War Of Conquest
by RisingNight
Summary: The Elemental Nations have recently been discovered by an adventurer. The World Government starts to move, and Luffy and Law cannot simply sit by. The Fourth Great Ninja War never occurs, but a far worse conflict replaces it. This is the story of the War of Conquest.
1. The Dead Zone

Reading Guide

**"Gaki"** Biju talking

**'Gaki'** Biju thinking

"Hello" Person talking

'Hello' Person thinking

**"Negative Hollow"** Technique name

**- Elemental Countries -** Place

_**"SHITTY SWORDSMAN!"**_ Sanji

Disclaimer: I own neither One Piece nor Naruto.

* * *

_**PLEASE READ BEFORE READING THE STORY:**_

**I didn't want to do this, but it looks like I'll have to. First off, the theory presented in this chapter is incorrect as it is the first theory and it will be revised throughout the story as they learn more about the ninja. As for the power levels of the pirates vs the ninja, the pirates will be slightly overpowered while the ninja will be slightly underpowered. I have received several comments on this, and honestly, I don't care. If you don't like it, don't read the story.**

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**- New World: Thriller Bark -**

Trafalgar Law sat on a plain looking beach, half asleep and half awake, with the moon glowing in the sky. Still, the beach he was on was far from ordinary. The beach was a part of the super ship Thriller Bark, which belonged to the former Warlord Gekko Moria. The ship was currently anchored in the middle of the Calm Belt, which would traditionally be suicidal. In this particular case it wasn't, for two reasons. The first reason, and probably the main one, was the ship's guardians. The ship was protected by the two Kraken and Nola, the giant snake from sky island. The Kraken Brothers, as those on Thriller Bark called them, decided to guard the ship to show their gratitude towards Luffy for his help during the whole Fishman Island fiasco.

Nola, on the other hand, had nowhere else to go. About a year pervious, she had fallen from Skypea ad managed to survive. After discovering that she could swim, and quite well at that, she made her way to the Calm Belt where she was later found by Law himself. The three monsters now acted as the guards for Thriller Bark and they ate any Sea King foolish enough to come near. The second deterrent was Moria's Shadow Haze. It was a technique he had recently developed. It allowed him to create a mist similar to what would be encountered in the Florian Triangle. The notable difference is that inside the mist the moon and stars could be seen clearly, even at noon.

If you entered the center of the mist and looked up you would see the night sky, no matter what time it actually was. Thriller Bark had become a land of eternal night, and that suited Moria just fine. The mist didn't actually extend under the sea, but the feeling it exuded was enough to ward away most Sea Kings.

The silence of the pseudo-night was broken by the call of a bird. Law stirred and sat up. Looking into the sky he saw a News Coo coming towards him. For some reason the birds didn't seem to be affected by the mist and continued to deliver news to Thriller Bark. It was the only place in the Calm Belt that they would come to deliver news. No one quite understood exactly why this was, but no one really cared either. Most were just happy that they could still get news while they were visiting.

The New Coo delivered the paper, then flew off after Law paid for it.

'I wonder if there's anything of interest? Maybe the True Power Alliance has made a move,' Law thought, looking down at the newspaper. Here is what he saw.

**Dead Zone Conquered**

The Dead Zone in South Blue is a patch of ocean that exhibits Grand Line like conditions. Thus far there has been no explanation for this strange phenomenon. The Dead Zone is like a little chunk of the Grand Line transplanted into South Blue. Needless to say, no one who has ever strayed within the borders of the Dead Zone has ever come back alive, until now that is. An expedition lead by the adventurer Nakara has recently returned form a successful voyage into the Dead Zone. A former marine, Nakara was used to and able to deal with the Grand Line conditions. He repots that he found an island of massive size at the center of the Dead Zone. According to him, the natives call the place the Elemental Nations. They are a group of divide militaristic countries, each possessing their own armies and 'shinobi' forces.

'Shinobi' appears to be the name for the highest level fighters. They use an ability called chakra to unlock devil fruit like abilities, but they appear to be weaker than the average devil fruit user. Now that the twenty some new countries have been discovered, the World Government will begin negotiations with them. _ Read the full article on page 6_

Law's mind was racing. Jumping up he used his devil fruit to create a room and promptly teleported.

* * *

**- Thriller Bark: Mast Mansion -**

Inside the Mast Mansion Perona was relaxing on the third floor. The Mast Mansion was the most important thing on Thriller Bark, and each level served a different purpose. The first level was mainly for presentations. The second floor was the communications and Intel center, while the third level acted as a lounge. All of the levels above the third were restricted, meaning that you had to be a high enough rank to ever. The higher the level the higher the rank required.

Perona was relaxing with Bearsy in the lounge when Trafalgar suddenly appeared. Perona screamed and the recliner she was sitting in tipped over.

"Law! Don't do that!" she screamed, standing up.

"Yeah, sorry. Perona-ya, send out hollow messenger to all of our forces. Tell all officers to report here as soon as possibl, this is important," Law said, completely brushing Perona off.

"All?" Perona asked, eyes wide. "Are we going to start a major operation? You can't do that unless Luffy agrees, you know."

Law cursed. 'Damn, I forgot. Well, no matter, I'm certain he'll go along with this. He's the type of person who can't sit by and watch something like his happen.'

"You're correct," Law said, "I'll be handling Luffy, you just send the message." After he finished his sentence he promptly disappeared. Perona huffed, 'He was so rude! I wouldn't send the message but then Moria-sama would be angry at me.' Perona sighed, having Moria angry at her just wouldn't do.

**_"_Negative Hollow_,"_** she said, creating several dozen of her hollows. "Okay, you need to deliver this message to all of our allies. 'All forces need to report back to Thriller Bark ASAP. No excuses, no buts.' Now get going." With that the hollow flew off, scattering in all direction.

* * *

**- Amazon Lilly -**

Luffy and the crew were having a blast. It was the first time Luffy had brought his crew to Amazon Lilly, and he was having about as much fun as physically possible. Not quite as much fun as Sanji was having, but close. When the island had come into sight Sanji had jumped overboard and swam to super sonic speeds towards. A sea king tried to eat him, but wound up getting a kick to the head that sent it down to the depths.

Aboard the Thousand Sunny Zoro was muttering about the "Stupid Ero-Cook." When they had docked Sanji was nowhere to be found. They eventually located him in the kitchen of the palace cooking for the Kuja Pirates. Apparently they had figure out that he couldn't refuse a woman and intended to take full advantage of it.

The crew was partying with the Kujas like there was no tomorrow. Luffy was refusing proposals for Hancock left and right, Zoro had already downed his second barrel of Sake, and Sanji was having the time of his life on the Island Of Women. Nami and Robin were grateful for some girls to talk to, Franky was enjoying the food, Brook was asking to see the panties of every person he encountered, and Ussop and Chopper were just glad to be on an island where nothing was trying to kill them.

The party was in full swing when a ghost drifted through the wall. No one noticed it for a moment, but when they did, the room went silent. The ghost drifted over to Nico Robin and floated in front of her. Realizing what the hollow wanted, Robin removed the Decoder from her pocket and set it down on the table in front of her. The Decoder was an amazing device that had been created by Franky to allow hollows to carry messages. The major advantage it had over Den Den Mushi's is that the signal could not be intercepted because there was no signal. Once the Decoder was on the table the hollow flew into it and the message was relayed.

"'All forces need to report back to Thriller Bark ASAP. No excuses, no buts."

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**- Elemental Countries: Suna -**

Gaara stared up at the half full moon. 'Why?' he wondered, 'Why won't they accept me?'

**'Maybe because of all the people you killed,'** Shukaku responded scathingly.

'I've changed, ever since I fought Naruto two years ago, I've been different,' Gaara thought back.

**'Face facts, gaki. You've killed civilians, innocents. You'll never be accepted.'**

'That doesn't mean I can't try.'

**'Suit yourself, but you're wasting you time. If you really want to play that game, go on more missions. That way we can kill people and get away with it.'**

Gaara sighed. Shukaku was right, he would never be accepted, there was too much blood on his hands. 'Still, I wish to protect that which is precious to me. With or without the acceptance of the village, I shall protect it. I shall not allow my home to be destroyed.'

Gaara looked back up at the moon and a chill went down his spine. Something bad was coming, he didn't know what, but he could tell. The world seemed to scream for him to run, but after a moment the feeling passed.

"Something's coming, something big. I'm sure of it," Gaara muttered.

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**(A/N: Ok, so the first chapter is done. Now I should warn you, this fic is going to be very untraditional. This fic will contain Naruto, but he will be cannon Naruto. People from One Piece will be making comments about him that may be considered Naruto bashing, but they won't say anything that isn't true. As you can tell, this fic is set two years after Naruto started his training trip. As for One Piece, this fic takes about a year after the events of Dressrosa. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.)**


	2. Gathering Forces

Reading Guide

**"Gaki"** Biju talking

**'Gaki'** Biju thinking

"Hello" Person talking

'Hello' Person thinking

**"Negative Hollow"** Technique name

**- Elemental Countries -** Place

_**"ZORO! YOU STILL OWE ME 300,000 BERI!"**_ Nami

Disclaimer: I own neither One Piece nor Naruto.

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**- New World: Thriller Bark -**

The main auditorium on the first floor of the Mast Mansion was nearly filled. Pirates from all over the New World were in attendance. The room was slightly rounded in shape, but not circular. The room had a shape the almost resembled a teardrop, only more rounded at what would traditionally be the point. The status of those in attendance could be determined by where they sat. The ones in the front, facing the entrance and those entering were the most important, while those at the opposite end were of lesser, or in some cases no, importance.

All of the seats were full, save for those reserved for the Strawhats. Law sighed, they were late.

After a few minutes of waiting, the Strawhat crew entered. Sanji was fuming.

"LAW!" he yelled, "THIS BETTER BE GOOD! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU INTERUPTED?!"

Law was slightly confused, 'What I interrupted? They were just visiting some island, Amazon Lily if I recall correctly. The Isle of Women. Why would Sanji be. . . oh, yeah, that makes sense."

"Trust me, it's important," Law replied in a calm but loud tone that hushed the silent conversations that had been going on in the room. "If you'll sit down, I'll explain." The Strawhats complied and they all took their seats. With Luffy now sitting beside him, Law stood to begin the address.

"First, let me address the obvious face of those in attendance. The only reason I would call a meeting of this magnitude is the beginning of a major operation, which is the case." At this announcement mutterings broke out among the assembled pirates. "I know, to do this I need Luffy's consent, which I currently don't have. Still, I deemed it necessary to call you here to save time, there isn't a moment to loose and I'm quite sure that Luffy will support my decision."

Taking a quick glance at Luffy he continued, "Allow me to explain," he said, holding up a newspaper. "This is a paper that was delivered three days ago. It seems innocent at first, but if not handled properly, it could create massive problems later. You see, an explorer has discovered a massive island in the center of the Dead Zone, and a militaristic one too."

"You called us here for this!" someone yelled, clearly upset by what he believed to be a trivial thing.

"One again let me say it, it seems trivial, but in actuality it could be deadly," Law reiterated. "Think about it, with these new nations on the political map, the World Government is sure to move in for the kill. The nations will be swallowed up in an instant. They all have strong militaries, but they simply can't combat the massive numbers the World Government can field."

"This matters because we're talking about South Blue, you all remember the Flaming Dragon Incident, don't you?"

All around the room people began to mutter, hushed conversations took place between those sitting near each other until someone stood up.

"Yes, we all know about the Flaming Dragon Incident, why does it matter?"

Trafalgar sighed. "It matters for two reasons. The first is that although South Blue was completely freed during the Flaming Dragon Incident, all thought of rebellion were snuffed out as well. The death of Monkey D. Dragon was enough to completely destroy the revolutionary army and any thought of fighting back that once existed in South Blue. The only reason the countries that were liberated by Dragon before he died haven't been reclaimed yet is that the World Government has to appear good in the eyes of the people. Negotiations with the liberated countries have been going nowhere because the World Government currently doesn't have any leverage. They hold no sway in South Blue. Do you understand?"

The man, who was still standing, responded in the negative. "I understand what you're getting at, but how does the discovery of these new countries affect that at all?"

"Kishishishi, you really don't get it, do you?" a voice chuckled. Everyone present turned towards the voice, their complete attention now focused on none other than Gekko Moria.

Moria looked drastically different from when he had fought the Strawhats almost three years ago. He now stood at the height of seven feet, which was quite tall but nothing compared to his former gargantuan frame. Besides his change in height, he had also gained a more human build, and no longer resembled a monstrous gourd. Despite his changes, some of his features had stayed the same. He still had the stitches on his head, as well as his purple hair and pointed ears. He had even retained his horns.

All in all, he looked completely different from his previous self. Well, depending on how you looked at it. When Law had found Moria almost ten months previously, he managed to recognized him. Of course the fact that they were on Moria's ship Thriller Bark at the time might have provided a clue, but that was beside the point. Once Law had recognized Moria, he immediately inquired into his drastically altered appearance.

Moria was in no mood to answer at the time, and he immediately ordered Law off his ship. Despite this, Law was not deterred. He offered Moria a place in his alliance with Luffy, which had come to be called the We Are Alliance. Moria refused that as well. Law remembered it clearly.

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**- Ten Months Previously: Thriller Bark -**

"Moria, I would like to invite you to the We Are Alliance. You are currently in hiding from the World Government, and we would give you a place to belong," Law said, trying to convince Moria. "As you would be the first person to join besides Luffy and myself, I could offer you the rank of First Commandant under myself."

"Kishishishi, you think I care? Go bug someone else, I'm not interested," Moria responded.

Trafalgar gritted his teeth. "Moria, we need people of your strength if we wish to take down Kiado, even though Luffy and I are strong, we would simply be killed."

"Trying to take down and Emperor are you? Well, you can do it on your own. I have nothing against. . ." Moria's eyes widened and he jumped to his feet. He had previously been lying in the same place where he had talked to Luffy during the attack on Thriller Bark, completely relaxed. He now was standing, every muscle in his body rigid, his eyes wide. "Did you just say that you're aiming to take down Kaido?" Moria asked, as if hardly believing what he was hearing.

"Yes," Trafalgar responded, somewhat confused.

A giant smile broke out over Moria's face. "Kishishishi, well it would appear that I'll be helping you. Where do I sign?"

* * *

After joining Moria had revealed that his new appearance was due to his Kage Kage no mi. He said that he had used his shadow manipulation to give himself his monstrous appearance after his crew had been killed by Kaido, and that he didn't look that way naturally. He said that his new, or old, form was his natural appearance. Besides his change in appearance, Moria's personality was drastically different as well.

When he had first joined the Alliance he immediately threw himself into training, swearing that he would be the one to take Kaido's head. He even went so far as to ask Zoro to train him in Nitoryu, which Zoro grudgingly agreed to. With Moria's new build and drive, he made swift progress and quickly became a master of Nitoryu, using blades of shadow that he created with his Kage Kage no mi.

Still, his personality had not done a complete one-eighty. He still liked to rely on subordinates, namely his Zombies and Doppleman. He traditionally refrained from fighting when his subordinates could do it for him. Still, when they couldn't the change in Moria's personality became obvious. Whenever one successfully defeated Moria's subordinates he would throw himself at them and attack with all his might. While before he used his subordinates to do his work for him, he now used them to weed out those not now worthy of fighting him. Moria had grown much stronger, but no one realized just how much stronger until the battle of Victoria Island.

* * *

**- Back In The Present -**

"If the World Government was to conquer those countries they would have the leverage they need to bring all of South Blue back under their control. The worst part is that they don't even need to be subtle. It would be so very easy for them to send an Ambassador and make sure he was assassinated by one of the local nations. Failing that, they would simply send one, then have him killed and blame one of these nations. With that out of the way, they would attack this new island with all their power. They wouldn't last a week. Once the new island in under their control, other islands all over South Blue will start to start to gravitate back to them. Within a month of the Elemental Nations, as they are called, 'joining' the World Government, it is likely that the World Government will have regained complete control over the South," Moria said, as if talking to a child.

"Moria is correct," said Law. "It would be like dominoes, and with the Revolutionary Army in shambles the only ones who can stop this is us. Unless you think the True Power Alliance would be willing to lend a hand."

That comment caused laughter throughout the room. The True Power Alliance was the name of the Alliance between Kidd, Scratchmen and Hawkins. They had one track minds, keep looking forward and never go back. Well, at least that was how Kidd and Scratchmen thought. Hawkins was smarter, but there was nothing he could do because he was always outvoted by the two aforementioned Captains.

"So Luffy, do you agree? Should we help the Elemental Nations?" Law asked.

"Mmm," Luffy said. Looking back on the conversation Luffy had yet to say a single thing. That was strange, very strange. "Yes, we have to help them. A new island means new kinds of meat, we simply can't let the World Government take that away from us!" he declared. Most of the other pirates in the room fell face first onto the floor, an impressive feat considering they were sitting. Law and the Strawhats simply sweatdropped, they were used to Luffy's behavior by this point.

"Well then it's decided, our agents will be moving out tomorrow morning. Be sure to rest well, you're in for a long trip tomorrow. You'll be taking my submarine. Everyone understand? Good, dismissed," Law said with a wave of his hand.

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**(A/N: For those who didn't figure it out, the battle of Victoria Island was the fight between the We Are Alliance and Kaido. It occurred about three months before the start of this story. More information about it will be revealed in flashbacks. As for Moria joining the alliance and his changed personality, I hope I made it realistic. Anyhow thanks for reading and please review.)**


	3. The Four Kage and Hokage-chan

Reading Guide

**"Gaki"** Biju talking

**'Gaki'** Biju thinking

"Hello" Person talking

'Hello' Person thinking

**"Negative Hollow"** Technique name

**- Elemental Countries -** Place

_**"THIS IS SAPRTA!"**_ Leonidas

Disclaimer: If the disclaimers for the previous two chapters were funny then I own One Piece and Naruto.

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**- Land Of Sound: Coast -**

A neon yellow submarine emerged from the water about a dozen feet off the coast of the Land Of Sound. It drifted the last few feet to the coast in complete silence, which was then shattered by the sound of thousands of dying souls. Turns out that putting Zoro and Sanji in an enclosed space together for close to a week was a bad idea. Who knew? The door of the submarine opened and both Zoro and Sanji charged out, immediately jumping to the shore and putting as much distance between each other as possible.

"Shitty doctor. I can't believe he thought that was a good idea. . ." Sanji muttered, thinking back to the morning ten days before.

* * *

Early in the morning eleven figures assembled at the southernmost beach of Thriller Bark. At the head of the group stood none other than Trafalgar Law, who was facing out towards the sea. His trademark sword was missing.

"You ten have been selected to infiltrate these "Elemental Countries." We've managed to glean some information on them by intercepting Navy transmissions, but we still know very little about these countries. What we do know is that five of the countries are more important than the rest. They are the Lands of Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, and Water. Inside each of these Lands there is a 'Hidden Village' which trains that Land's special troops, or 'Shinobi.' You will be split into five pairs and each pair will be assigned a Hidden Village. Any questions?" Trafalgar asked without turning around.

"Who are the pairs?" Crocodile asked. "I'm assuming I'm with Daz, but what about Zoro and Sanji? You can't expect them to work together."

"Actually," Trafalgar responded, "That's exactly what I have in mind. Oh, and you would be correct about being paired with Daz."

Zoro and Sanji who had been arguing in the background suddenly stopped. The slowly looked towards Law, and were silent for a moment. That moment didn't last long.

"I'M NOT GOING TO WORK WITH THAT IDIOT!" they both yelled. It should be noted that they did all of this in perfect unison.

Law sighed, "Yes, you are. You two can't get along and fight constantly. In fact, it's so bad that I would categorize it as a weakness the two of you share. That's why you're being paired together. Hopefully that will help you get along. Don't worry though. You'll have a week together in the submarine to get used to being together."

Both Zoro and Sanji looked horrified, the fact that they would be trapped in an enclosed space together for close to a week obviously hadn't occurred to them.

"Why don't we just get on with this, who are the pairs and which Village will each pair be going to?" Nami asked. Trafalgar turned around and smiled.

"Very well. Crocodile and Daz will be assigned to the Village Hidden in the Sand and the Land of Wind. It's a desert, so you two should be used to the conditions there." Crocodile nodded.

"Zoro, Sanji, you two will be monitoring the Village Hidden in the Leaves in the Land of Fire. It is said to be the home of the strongest of these 'shinobi' so if something goes wrong you two would be the best equipped to deal with it."

"Next are Nami and Robin. You'll be headed to the Village Hidden in the Cloud in the Land of Lightning. It is the most militaristic of the five Villages and so Robin should prove to be an invaluable recourse. Beyond simply monitoring you two will both have extra jobs."

Law turned towards Nami. "Nami, you'll be in charge of acquiring or making maps for as much of the Elemental Countries as possible. If we're going to be setting up defenses, then knowing he geography is important," he paused and then turned to Robin, "Robin, you'll be in charge of gathering information about anything of importance that is not directly related to any of the Five Hidden Villages. As you are the most experienced in this field it shouldn't be a problem for you."

"Penguin, Shachi, you two will be headed to the Village Hidden in the Mist in the Land of Water. You're both from Lagoon Island so you should be used to the climate and be able to relate to the people who live there."

"The final pair is going to be Gin and Yashi. You'll be headed to the Village Hidden in the Stone in the Land of Earth. You two, well. . . honestly, I just picked you randomly."

Both Gin and Yashi sweatdropped.

Law turned back around so that he was once again facing the ocean. "Now that you know your assignments you will depart shortly. There is only one more thing I have to add. Every one of you will be responsible for creating profiles for strong or important people you encounter. You should include as much information as possible, and make the profiles as accurate as you possibly can. Any questions?"

Nami sighed, "How do you expect Zoro, and to a lesser extent Sanji, to profile anyone with any degree of accuracy?"

Law smiled again, although none of them could see it. "That's why I included the 'as accurate as you possibly can' part. Plus, those two should be able to put together a good report on the Village leader, the Hokage, I believe."

Crocodile's brow furrowed. "Hokage? Why don't you tell us everything you managed to get form the government transmissions then we can move on from there."

"That's as good a plan as any," Law conceded. "Well, as I already said, the island is made up of about twenty some courtiers, the five most important of which are referred to as the Five Great Nations. Each of the great nations contains a Hidden Village which trains 'shinboi,' or the special troops of that country. Each Village has a leader with a different title, and we have a little Intel on each of them."

"The Raikage is the leader of the Village hidden in the Clouds. He is dark-skinned and muscular. He is said to possess incredible speed and strength."

"Next is the Mizukage, the leader of the Village Hidden in the Mist. She is said to have an ability called the Yoton, but we don't know what it does yet."

"We have very little information on the Tsuchikage, the leader of the Village Hidden in the Rocks, other than the fact that he is an old man, but very experienced."

"The Kazekage, the leader of the Village Hidden in the Sand, takes it one step further. We have absolutely no information on him, or possibly her."

"Finally there is the Hokage, the leader of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. She is said to be a medic and possess strength even greater than that of the Raikage. Beyond that, our Intel states that she is a beautiful woman, which is why I have faith in Sanji's ability to collect the information we need."

Everyone present sweatdropped, except for Sanji who was too busy picturing the 'Hokage-chan.'

"That's about all the Intel we have at the moment. We obtained most of it from listening in on government transmissions, but some comes from our. . . contact. Anyhow, I must be going, have a good trip," Law said. He created one of his _**Rooms** _and then promptly teleported away. The ten pirates wer left standing alone on the beach, and after a moment they all boarded the submarine which then sank beneath the waves.

* * *

Zoro looked up at the huge gate with the stylized leaf symbol at the top. "So this is the Village Hidden in the Leaves, huh? Hey, dartboard brow, contact Law and let him know we're here."

* * *

**(A/N: I love writing this story. Anyhow, I have a few announcements to make. First, this story will never have a Q and A section, nor will I answer questions in the story. If you PM me I will be more than happy to answer questions but the story is for the story, and that's that. In much the same way I will not be doing a 'last time' segment at the beginning of every chapter like some stories, unless there is great demand for it. Building off that, I have decided that this story will be updated every week on Thursdays. I may update on other days too, but there should always be an update on Thursdays. Now if a very good question is asked then I will occasionally answer in the A/N because I want everyone to know the answer, so here I go. Peter Kim, yes, this story will be a three way war, but not between the Akatsuki and the W.G. and the We Are Alliance. On a completely different note, does anyone play LoC? Anyway, sorry for the long A/N. This should be the longest one I'll ever have to write.)**


	4. Sandstorm

Reading Guide

**"Gaki"** Biju talking

**'Gaki'** Biju thinking

"Hello" Person talking

'Hello' Person thinking

_"Gaara stared up at the half full moon"_ Flashback

**"Negative Hollow"** Technique name

**- Elemental Countries -** Place

_**"FREE RAMEN!"**_ Naruto

Disclaimer: Roll one ordinary six sided die. If you get a seven then I own One Piece and Naruto.

* * *

**- Land Of Wind: Suna -**

Crocodile and Daz walked down one of the main streets of the Village Hidden in the Sand, or Suna, as the natives called it. Despite the heat, Crocodile wore his usual suit and fur overcoat. He also wore the same green handkerchief that he had worn during the War of the Best. Daz walked slightly behind him, wearing a suit. The two were posing as travelers, Crocodile was posing as a businessman in search of trade while Daz was posing as his bodyguard.

'It's good to be back in the desert, it's so relaxing,' Crocodile thought, then he frowned. 'Strange, I feel a headache coming on. I haven't had a headache since, well, I can't even remember.' As he continued to walk down the street, the headache only worsened. 'What's going on? Is there something going on nearby?' Crocodile focused on his Observation Haki and immediately a lance of pain shot though his mind.

'Something's near, something bad. I've never felt anything like that. I best proceed with caution.' Crocodile stopped and signaled Daz to follow him. He walked over the side of the road and leaned against the wall of a store, Daz doing the same. Once he was situated, he once again activated his Observation Haki, but he limited the information he received. His head began to throb, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been the first time.

Crocodile looked down the street, that was where the feeling was coming from. 'It's getting closer, I wonder what it is? It should be here in a moment, I guess I'll wait and see.'

After about thirty seconds of waiting, Crocodile noticed a disturbance in the crowd in the direction the feeling was coming from. The people seemed to split, as if the were afraid to be close to whatever was coming. As the people moved to either side, a red haired boy became visible. He wore a strange gourd on his back and had a tattoo of a foreign symbol of his head. The feeling was coming from him, there was no doubt about it.

Crocodile's frown deepened. Looking at the people around the red-headed boy he saw fear and disgust clearly written of their faces. Turning to a civilian who happened to be near him he began to gather information.

"Excuse me," he said. Once he had the civilian's attention he continued. "I recently arrived in this Village, I'm a businessman you see, and so I'm unfamiliar with the people who live here. I must admit I'm curious, who is that red-headed boy?"

The civilian's features instantly morphed to show his hatred and distaste for the boy. "That thing is no boy, it's a demon. It caused massive damage to our Village years ago, and now it struts around our Village in human form. It'll kill you if you get on it's bad side. Take my advice, just stay away from it."

Now that was interesting. 'A demon huh? No, I think not.' Turning to Daz he asked for his opinion. "Daz, what do you make of that kid?"

The kid in question had reached their spot on the wall and was walking by while Daz answered. "He reminds me of Zoro, he has a demonic feel to him, but I'd say he's a human."

Crocodile smiled, the frown that previously clouded his features disappearing. "Good, well then, why don't we talk to him?" That said, he set out after the mysterious red headed 'demon.' After a minute the pair caught up to the boy in question. 'Daz is lucky, he doesn't have Haki,' Crocodile thought. He still had his headache, and it still seemed to get worse the closer he was to the boy. 'Then again, the headache isn't as bad as it was whenever the boy first passed by. Perhaps I'm getting used to whatever is causing it.'

"Hello," Crocodile said to get the boy's attention.

* * *

Gaara blinked in surprise. Turning around he saw a man wearing a suit with a gray overcoat. He mentally began to sweat. Even looking at that thing made him feel hot. Next to the man in the coat there was another man, this one dressed in a suit. He had a buzz cut and a scar over one of his eyes. Looking back at the first man he noticed that he had a scar as well, one that stretched all the way across his face over his nose.

"My name is Crocodile," the first man introduced himself, "and the man behind me is named Daz. Who are you?"

"Gaara," he replied numbly. Someone wanted to know his name?

**'Hey, don't get all sentimental on me,'** Shukaku said. **'So he asked your name. He obviously isn't from around here. He probably just wants to know why everyone looks at you like they do.'**

'You're probably right,' Gaara thought.

**'Probably? There's no probably involved in this. I'd even bet on it, if I'm wrong I'd be willing to teach you everything I know,'** Shukaku said, supremely confident in his own intelligence.

'Really?' Gaara thought dubiously. 'And what do you want if you win?'

**'If? You mean when. Anyhow, what I want is for you to get off your lazy ass, go out on an A or S ranked mission and kill some people. Deal?'**

If Gaara had been a less stoic person he would have sweatdropped. After a moment of thought he replied.

'Fine, deal.'

Turning his attention back to the two men in front of him, Gaara decided to get straight to the point.

"What do you want?" he asked.

The man named Crocodile seemed to think about it for a minute, then nodded to himself. Gaara was able to hear him muttering the words "Maybe, maybe." Looking up Crocodile responded.

"I just want to talk to you. It might actually wind up being a long conversation. Why don't we go to a restaurant. Your choice, and I'll pay. In exchange I just want you tell me about yourself and then to hear me out."

By this point Gaara was thoroughly confused, but he agreed to the man's offer and began to lead the two men to his favorite restaurant.

* * *

The Oasis was hardly the nicest restaurant in Suna, but Gaara liked it none the less. His main reason for frequenting the place was that the owner and waiters didn't mind his presence. It might seem like a little thing, but most of the other restaurants turned him away and those that didn't treated him like a monster.

The Oasis was a small place, possibly being able to seat thirty at most. The lights were dim, and it was situated in one of the northernmost districts of Suna. It was completely out of the way, and when combined with the fact that they were willing to serve Gaara, they didn't see too much business. Gaara and the two men were seated in a booth in the corner of the main room. They had the restaurant to themselves.

"To begin, would you mind telling us about yourself?" the one named Crocodile asked.

"I don't mind," Gaara replied. "Where to begin. Well, I have a demon sealed inside me and his name is Shukaku. He's the reason the Villagers hate me."

**'That and the fact that you've killed a couple dozen of them,'** Shukaku commented snidely.

At this Crocodile had to raise an eyebrow. 'A demon? Well, I guess it explains the headache. I must have been sensing it without knowing what I was feeling. Come to think of it, my headache is completely gone now. I guess I'm used to the demon's presence.'

"Because Shukaku is sealed inside me, my life has been difficult," Gaara said, ignoring Shukaku completely. He told the two strangers about his father, the former Kazekage, and how he tried to have him killed. He told them about his life and how he had even gone insane at one point. He recounted his encounter and fight with Naruto, and he found himself revealing all of his feelings to the pair. Once he had finished, he felt as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

The three men sat in silence for a minute, drinking the water that the waiter had delivered at the onset of Gaara's story.

"After hearing your story, I have an offer to make you," Crocodile said. Gaara raised a non-existent eyebrow.

"The Elemental Nations, and Suna by extension, are in danger. The Elemental Nations will be invaded, and I'm part of a. . . group that's tying to stop the invasion from happening."

Gaara's back went ramrod straight. _Gaara looked back up at the moon and a chill went down his spine. Something bad was coming, he didn't know what, but he could tell. The world seemed to scream for him to run, but after a moment the feeling passed. __"Something's coming, something big. I'm sure of it," Gaara muttered. _Crocodile continued, unaware of the thoughts passing through Gaara's mind.

"Assuming we fail, my group is also ready to help defend the Elemental Nations. You appear to be quite strong, and it's easily apparent that this village won't accept you and yet you still wish to protect them. If you agree to join our little group, you'll be able to do so much more. You could help save not only the people of Suna, but also your friends in Konoha as well. I know it's a lot to take in, and so I'll give you seven days to come to a decision. If you decide you want to join, or to know more, meet me here in exactly one week at the same time."

His part said, Crocodile stood up, and Daz did as well. The two then left the restruant leaving a stunned Gaara in their wake. If Gaara had cared to think about it, he would have heard Shukaku cursing about how he had lost their bet.

* * *

**(A/N: I'm evil, aren't I? You all wanted to see Zoro and Sanji in Konoha, didn't you? Well, don't worry, that's next chapter. Anyway, I've decided that I'll attempt pairings in this fic. It'll be my first time doing so, and I'd accept and criticism that you have to offer. I currently have two pairings in mind. One is a secret, the other is RobinxItachi. Somehow those two just seem to go together, although I can't say I'm really sure what a romantic relationship between the two of them would look like. Won't know until I try, I guess.)**


	5. Entering Konoha

Reading Guide

**"Gaki"** Biju talking

**'Gaki'** Biju thinking

"Hello" Person talking

'Hello' Person thinking

_"Gaara stared up at the half full moon"_ Flashback

**"Negative Hollow"** Technique name

**- Elemental Countries -** Place

_**"I HAVE 8,000 FOLLOWERS!"**_ Ussop

Disclaimer: Look to your left. If you are looking right I own One Piece and Naruto.

* * *

**- Land of Fire: Outside Konoha -**

Sanji hung up the Den Den Mushi. "Already done calling him, marimo. Maybe if you weren't zoning out you would have noticed. What were you doing anyhow?"

Thinking," Zoro responded.

"No seriously," Sanji said.

"I WAS BEING SERIOUS!" Zoro yelled. "I was wondering why this place was called a Hidden Village, it's about as hidden as Marineford."

Sanji looked at the gigantic gates, then past them into the massive city. It _was_ pretty hard to miss. 'What do you know, the marimo came up with a half decent point.'

We're wasting time," Sanji said, then promptly walked through the gates. The pair entered Konoha and had gone about five feet before they were stopped.

"Hold up, if you want to enter the Village you have to sign in!" a voice called from their left. Looking over the pair saw a black haired man who had a white bandage across his nose.

"Really?" asked Zoro, "Well whatever." That said he walked towards the man leaving Sanji to follow him. The two walked over to the desk on the side of the road and noticed that the bandaged man wasn't the only one there. Sitting beside him was another man who had half his face covered by his hair like Sanji and wore a bandana on his head like Zoro. He appeared to be sleeping.

"Okay," the first man said. "You both need to put down your names and give a reason for being here." He reached below the desk and pulled out a clipboard with a list of names on it, and then offered it to Sanji. Sanji took the clipboard and wrote down his name, then he handed it to Zoro who did the same before handing it back to the guard.

"Sanji and Zoro, alright. Now if you just tell me why you're here then your cleared for entrance."

"Well, I'm a chef looking for work and Zoro is the man I hired to be my bodyguard. The roads around here can be dangerous. He'll be coming with me once I set up shop too to keep order," Sanji replied.

'I can't believe that Law came up with this cover story for us, why would I guard him?' Zoro thought.

Sanji was thinking along much the same lines. 'As if I need him to guard me.'

Then they both shuddered._ "Well, if you don't want to pretend to be a chief and his bodyguard you could always pose as a couple fleeing from prejudice in your homeland, you'd probably put up a pretty convincing act," Law said. _ It had taken the entire Strawhat crew to restrain them after that comment. Needless to say, after that they decided to go with the chief story.

"Chef huh? Well, your cleared for entry, just don't cause too many problems," the guard said.

* * *

Zoro and Sanji were walking down one of the main streets of Konoha when they heard men yelling, two by the sound of it. Looking into the distance they noticed a cloud of dust drawing closer, and with it the screams. The civilian seemed to be trying their best to ignore whatever it was that was in the cloud of dust, and they only acknowledged it's presence by moving out of it's way.

Stepping to the side, Zoro and Sanji watched as the could of dust grew closer and two figures became visible.

"Our flames of youth are burning brightly, Gai-sensei!" the smaller of two green clad figures yelled.

"Yosh!" the larger one screamed. "Our flames of youth burn brighter than the sun!" By this time the pair had drawn level with Zoro and Sanji. The two pirates had just enough time to see two green spandex clad forms running oth their hands, then they were gone.

"What did I just see?" Zoro asked.

"I didn't see anything," Sanji responded.

"Just like with Kokoro, huh?" Zoro snickered.

"What about her?" Sanji asked.

Zoro simply smirked and turned away, only to notice one of the civilians approaching them. He was a tall man with brown hair and a fair complexion.

"Is this your first time in Konoha?" the man asked.

"Yeah, how did you know?" Zoro asked.

"Your reaction," the man said. When it became obvious that the two had no idea what he was talking about, he continued. "Your reaction to Gai and Lee, the two who just ran past you. They're a little strange, just ignore them and you'll do fine," the man said, then walked off.

Sanji sweatdropped, 'Thanks, but we figured out that they were strange on our own. Wait, who is he talking about? Gai? That guy. . . NO! LEAVE ME ALONE! GET OUT OF MY HEAD! AHHHH!'

Zoro looked at Sanji, who was bashing his head against the wall of the building they were leaning on, and lost it. He laughed so hard that he started crying, and then he laughed a little harder. When he finished he looked back at Sanji who was still bashing his head against the wall. 'Heh, it's about time I ditched the love cook. Let's see what this Village has to offer.'

* * *

After a good ten minutes Sanji started to come too. His head was throbbing, but it was better than before, whatever that was. Looking around he noticed something, or rather a lack of something. 'What's missing?' he thought. 'Cigarette, check. Suit, check. Nami photo collection, check. Marimo, check. Wait, where is he?' Sanji started to sweat.

'We're in a foreign country, in a possibly hostile militaristic Village, and that idiot just had to wander off. This is terrible, absolutely. . . actually, this might not be that bad.' Looking left and right he spotted countless women. He smiled.

"I'll find me a lady!" he yelled, spinning off down the road.

* * *

**- Land of Lightning: Kumo Hotel Room -**

Nami and Robin were just getting settled into their hotel in Kumo. Getting into the city, which would normally have been a near impossible task, was easy thanks to Robin. Trafalgar obviously knew what he was doing, unlike some other pirate captains.

Nami sat down at the table and took out her charts and the data tables that they had collected. Robin looked over at her and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you going to work on that now?" she asked.

"Yeah," Nami replied. "I'm going to work on it for about an hour, then I'll turn in. It's already pretty late."

"Your right," Robin replied, "But I'm going to go out and see what I can find before midnight, I should be back by then."

"Alright, good luck with that," Nami said.

Robin nodded and opened the door into the bright street. "Good luck with your calculations as well," she said as she walked out and closed the door. Nami immediately began to work on the calculations, she only had an hour and she intended to make full use of it.

The calculations were for a route to Raftel, and they were extremely complex. Getting to Raftel required more than strength, it required an insane amount of planning too. In Paradise all routes eventually lead to Sabaody. The same did not hold true in the New World. In the about halfway through the New World, there existed a stretch of ocean known as the Magnetic Zone. The islands in the Magnetic Zone were completely unstable, and they're magnetic wavelengths could change, or even disappear, at any time. This made sailing through that area extremely dangerous.

If you started sailing for one of the Magnetic Zone Islands and it's magnetic wavelength disappeared, you were basically stranded. The worst part was that even plotting the shortest route through the Magnetic Zone you still had to pass four islands. That meant that they would have to be in magnetic alignment for any ship to be able to cross the Magnetic Zone safely. Nami was working on the calculations for just that, she was trying to chart a course through the Magnetic Zone when the islands were in alignment so they could cross safely. Still, even the slightest error would be fatal. Start even a single day late and they Magnetic Zone wavelengths would shift before you made it out and you would be stranded. The inverse was also true. If you started even a day early the Magnetic Islands wouldn't be in alignment and you would just end up going in circles.

The Magnetic Zone was the main reason that one of the Four Emperors hadn't already become the Second Pirate King. No one could chart a path through the Magnetic Zone, and until someone could, reaching Raftel was impossible. It was why Luffy had agreed to help this contry anyway, and why Law thought it was a good idea. As long as Nami was working on the calculations they were getting closer to Raftel, even if not physically. Their other option was to abandon the countries and have Nami do the same calculations while they sat around and waited for her to finish, an event that could be months or even years away. With that in mind, helping the Elemental Nations was the obvious choice.

* * *

**(A/N: Okay, I hope I've cleared up why Luffy and Law are bothering to help the shinobi. Anyhow, next up is more Zoro and Sanji in Konoha, probably with a little more action. And don't worry, you'll still be getting a Thursday update, heck, I might even update before then. Well, till next time.)**


	6. Those with White Eyes

Reading Guide

**"Gaki"** Biju talking

**'Gaki'** Biju thinking

"Hello" Person talking

'Hello' Person thinking

_"Gaara stared up at the half full moon"_ Flashback

**"Negative Hollow"** Technique name

**- Elemental Countries -** Place

_**"Brisingr!"**_ Eragon

Disclaimer: When two plus two equals five I shall own Naruto and One Piece.

* * *

**- Land Of Fire: Konoha -**

Sanji spun down the street, then paused. He back spun a block and stopped in front of a book with a huge orange sign that read "All Icha Icha Books Currently in Stock." Sanji couldn't help himself, and entered the store. After a moment of browsing he discovered four books. The first was titled Icha Icha Paradise, the second was Icha Icha Violence, the third was Icha Icha Tactics, and the fourth and final book was called Icha Icha Strap. Opening the first book Sanji read the synopsis and froze.

He stood quietly for a moment, before he picked up the four books and calmly walked to the counter where he paid for them. He just as calmly walked out of the store. Once outside blood shot out of his nose launching him off the street, over several blocks, and eventually sending him to a deserted training ground. Or at least he thought it was deserted. While he settled in to read the first of the four books, a presence nearby stirred.

* * *

When something crashed into the training ground, Hinata's training kicked in. Diving for cover she managed to conceal herself in a bush. Carefully looking out, she saw a cloud of dust where the object had landed. Then the object moved.

'No, it's not an object, it's a person,' she thought. After a moment the dust cleared and a blond man stood up, dusting himself off. He had traces of blood on the suit he wore, but other than that his clothing was impeccable. After getting the dust off and wiping away the blood on his suit, he walked over to a tree and sat down. He then pulled out a book and began to read.

Hinata couldn't see the title, but there was only one book she knew of that was that shade of orange. 'But who is he?' she wondered. 'I've never seen him before. . .'

Deciding that it was worth checking out, she quietly activated her **Byakugan** and gasped. It was a quiet sound, but it was enough to alert the blond man. Putting down his book, he closed his eyes for a moment and then vanished. Hianta gasped again, then saw him appear behind her. Jumping out of the bushes she took up a defensive stance in an area of deep shade in the small clearing. After a moment, the blond man walked out from the bushes where she had been hiding, looking slightly confused. He glanced over at the book he had been reading and his confusion changed to understanding and then to a rueful smile.

"Seems I was a little too caught up in my reading," he said. "Normally I would have sensed you."

Hinata's mind was spinning. 'Sensed? What does that mean? And the way he moved! I couldn't see him even though I had my Byakugan active,' her frown deepened. 'And he doesn't have a chakra system, or any chakra at all,' she thought, recalling the observation that initially caused her to gasp. 'He doesn't seem threatening, and he's certainly not in a combat pose, but with his speed I don't suppose that really matters. It's obvious he's out of my league. My best option is to try to resolve this peacefully.'

Straitening, Hinata deactivated her **Byakugan** and walked out of the shadows created by the trees, and for the second time that day the blond man froze. His eyes widened slightly and his body shook slightly. The bones in his legs seemed to disolve as they did a physically impossible noodle like movement. Hinata wished she hadn't deactivated her **Byakugan** because she _really_ wanted to see just exactly how he was managing to move like that. After a moment of his legs swaying they began to spin in an almost tornado like fashion.

Once again Hinata witnessed the man's incredible speed, as he simply appeared beside her. There was a major difference from last time though; this time he was kneeling with his head bowed. Raising his head, the man spoke.

"Allow me to apologize, I was unaware that such a beauty as you existed. Please excuse my poor imagination, for even my wildest dreams have failed to created angels that could compare to your beauty." The man's eyes glowed red, but not ominously. In fact, the actually looked like hearts.

Hinata involuntarily took a step back. Sensing his mistake, the man rose and took a different approach.

"Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Sanji," the man said.

"H-h-h-hello," Hinata stuttered. She wasn't confident even at the best of times, but she was _way_ out of her depth in this situation. She was talking to someone of unknown power who had already proven to be stronger than her. To make matters worse, the man she now knew as Sanji was trying to flirt with her. Yes, this was definitely not Hinata's area of expertise.

"M-my n-n-name is H-hinata," she managed to stutter out, but the man didn't seem to mind her stuttering. Actually, he seemed to be thinking to himself. Whatever he was thinking about, it was making him smile, a lot. (Think Sanji's thoughts when Robin was taken by CP9)

Bringing himself back to reality, Sanji smiled. "You seem nervous, fair maiden. Fear not, I mean you no harm."

* * *

Zoro sneezed. He was currently walking down one of the more crowded streets of Konoha, looking at the shops on either side of the road. To the contrary, most everyone else on the street was looking at him and ignoring the shops completely.

'He's still following me,' Zoro thought. Not glancing over his shoulder, Zoro focused his Observation Haki on the presence hiding behind him. He had picked him up about five minutes back, and his pursuer had been persistent. Assessing the power level of his follower, he decided that the man must be one of the 'shinobi' that Law had talked about, and a high ranking one at that. He was strong, for someone that wasn't a pirate or a Marine. 'He's not bad, but I could take him down in an instant.'

Resolving to ignore the presence, Zoro continued down the street. It didn't take him long to notice the attention he was receiving. Glancing left and right he noticed countless people staring at him, or rather his hair and the scar on his chest. _ "You are going to be acting as undercover agents. That means that you **shouldn't** attract attention. Understood?" Law asked._ Zoro snorted. 'Whatever, maybe it's time to get off the street. Stay here any longer and one of them might start asking questions.'

With that thought in mind Zoro entered the first shop on his left, a barbeque restaurant, according to the sign hanging outside. Choosing a table at random he sat down an waited for a waitress to come over. Once one did, he ordered some meat to cook on the grill built into the table and an inordinately large amount to sake. Pulling out a wad of ryo, he paid for the meal and waited for it to arrive.

'I'm sure glad that Trafalgar though this far ahead,' Zoro thought. Before they had departed Law had supplied them with a large amount of gold which Nami had cashed once they landed. She then 'evenly' divided the money among everyone present. Honestly, the other four groups probably go about 10% each, with her keeping 60%, but Zoro was glad to have even 5% to himself considering Nami was the one giving out money.

Looking around the restraint he noticed a group of what he guessed had to be the 'shinobi' that Law had talked about. They were talking about something, but Zoro was only able to catch snippets of their conversation, one of which was about "Gai-sensei." Zoro shuddered.

'Now I know why I got that feeling,' he thought. When prepaing for departure from Thriller Bark he had been about to don his green robe when he felt a chill, and decided to wear something different. Instead he had chosen to wear the same outfit that he had worn to Hand Island. He had never understood where that feeling had come from, but he did now.

* * *

"Thanks again for inviting us," Tenten said. "If you hadn't Gai-sensei and Lee would have dragged us along for their training." Tenten shuddered and even Neji barely managed to keep his face emotionless.

"It's no problem, really," Asuma said.

"Yeah," Shikamaru agreed. "Training is troublesome, and I'm not even sure how to describe Gai's training."

"As long as you don't eat my food, you're welcome to eat with us any time," Choji said. The entire group sweatdropped. As far as Choji was concerned, all the food on the table was 'his food.'

"Hey," Neji said. "Does anyone recognize the man across the room?"

Redirecting their attention, the group looked over at the man sitting at the table across from them. He stuck out like a sore thumb. To begin with, his green hair marked him as different from everyone else in the restaurant. He also carried swords and had scars, the most prominent of which stretched over his entire chest. His chest was exposed by the unbuttoned black jacket he wore, and did nothing to hide the gigantic scar that he bore. He was obviously not a strange to fights. Looking closer, Tenten noticed that he carried three swords instead of two or one.

"He has three swords," she said.

The group did a double take, and after noticing the smaller detail they nodded. Looking at each other, they leaned in and began talking in hushed tones.

"I've never seen him before," Asuma said.

"I don't think any of us have," Choji added.

"He looks dangerous," Shikamaru said.

"His swords look dangerous, I really want to get a closer look at them," Tenten sighed.

"Tenten, we have more pressing issues than the quality of his swords, he could be a threat. Allow me to check it out, **Byakugan**!" Neji exclaimend.

Across the room the swordsman shifted, opening his one good eye to look at them.

"What do you see," Asuma asked. "Is he a shinobi?"

"I don't know what he is," Neji said, but he's definitely not a shinobi." Getting up from the table he waled towards the stranger.

"Who are you?" he asked. The man smiled.

"Roronoa Zoro."

* * *

**(A/N: Hello again, here's the Thursday update. Well, our two favorite pirates seem keep running into Hyuga, don't they. For anyone who is up to date on the Naruto manga, you know why they don't have chakra. For everyone else, they don't have chakra and I will be explaining that later, although it could be considered a minor spoiler. Anyhow, the Hyuga can see that they don't have chakra and they know something's up. The real question is, what will they do about it? I guess you have to wait for the next chapter to find out. . .)**


	7. Sandstorm Part 2

Reading Guide

**"Gaki"** Biju talking

**'Gaki'** Biju thinking

"Hello" Person talking

'Hello' Person thinking

_"Gaara stared up at the half full moon"_ Flashback

**"Negative Hollow"** Technique name

**- Elemental Countries -** Place

_**"YOU CANNOT ESCAPE YOUR DESTINY!"**_ Obi-Wan

Disclaimer: When I rule the world, then I shall own One Piece and Naruto, but mainly One Piece.

* * *

**- Thriller Bark: Mast Mansion -**

Trafalgar threw down the report and massaged his temples.

"That bad?" Luffy asked, completely focused on his game.

"More than," Law replied. "Turns out we majorly underestimated these shinobi."

"That all?"

"Hardly. I can only say that I'm glad I chose Robin-ya as our Kumo agent. Their intelligence appears to be top notch and Robin's ability to get information she shouldn't have is top notch as well."

"Mmmm, okay."

"You don't care do you?" Law asked, shaking his head.

"**Nooooo!**" Luffy's agonized scream almost deafened Law. "I was _this_ close to getting a new high score! Why? Why? Why?" Luffy ranted. After regaining his senses he saw Luffy kneeling in front of the pinball machine with his head in his hands. The pinball machine had been given to Luffy by Daimon, one of the captains that Luffy had recruited. Apparently Daimon had got it while visiting some out of the way island in the New World. Franky had liked the idea and modified the machine to make it more 'fun.' Honestly, the thing had too many lasers for Law's taste. 'That thing is more dangerous than a weaker Vice-Admiral,' Law mused to himself.

"Well, now that your game is over, care to pay attention?" Law asked, refocusing on the subject at hand.

Sighing, Luffy got to his feet, "Sure, might as well."

"Good," Law replied. "The first part of Robin's report is all about the abilities of these shinobi. It appears that we underestimated them. Some of them, the Five Kage in particular, could probably stand up to Vice-Admirals."

"Really?" Luffy asked. "Do they use Haki or devil fruits?"

"Neither, they use some type of power called chakra. It appears to be similar to devil fruit abilities, but the powers granted by chakra are more versatile and those who use them retain the ability to swim."

Luffy frowned, "That sounds too good to be true."

"I agree," Law said, "And I don't believe for a second that this 'chakra' isn't related to the devil fruits in some way. The only question is how. . ."

"Pointless," Luffy said.

"Huh?"

"I said it's pointless, we don't have the information to figure it out right now. Maybe later, but not now. What else is in the report?"

Law smiled, it had been a long time in coming, but it had begun. Due to long term exposure to a person possessing intelligence of Laws level Luffy was beginning to engage in the extremely rare act of thinking.

"Well, the other main issue that she brings to light is a possible civil war," Law said.

"Civil war? Why?"

"Well, tensions are high between the Great Nations, and if left alone they will certainly go to war eventually. This is both a good and a bad thing."

"I know," Luffy said, surprising Law. Sure, Luffy had started to think more often but figuring out why a civil war would be a good thing would require advanced logical reasoning, exactly the type that Luffy didn't have. "If I was sitting at a table with two other people and their were three pieces of meat I would grab one and eat it. But, if the other two people looked like they were going to fight over one of the pieces of meat, I would wait for them to start fighting and then grab two pieces of meat. This is like that, right?"

'Figures, any higher reasoning that occurs in his head involves meat in some way shape or form. Well, at least he gets the concept,' Law thought. "You're basically correct. In the World Government thinks that there will be a civil war they are likely to hold off until the start of the war before invading. If they were to invade while these shinobi were having an internal conflict, the shinobi wouldn't stand a chance, no matter how skilled they happen to be."

"Shishishi, well then we just have to act before that happens right?" Luffy laughed. 'I can feel an adventure,' he thought to himself.

* * *

**- Land of Wind: Suna -**

Gaara sat alone in a booth in the restaurant. Like last time, the place was empty. Of course, it hadn't been empty when he had first entered, but that issue resolved itself quickly. Gaara had his head in his hands thinking.

The Shukaku was roaring in the back of Gaara's mind making it hard to concentrate, but he persevered.

'It's a pity that the only time the Shukaku is lucid enough to talk to me is the few days around the new moon,' Gaara thought to himself. He shared a very interesting relationship with the Shukaku.

During the New Moon and near that time of the month, Gaara was able to converse with the Shukaku with few problems. Still, that lasted a few days at best. After just a few short days Shukaku would go silent, usually for a period of about eight hours. When the eight hours were up, Shukaku would once again begin to speak. He would ignore any attempts to speak with him, and instead constantly mutter about killing and destruction. The mutterings only got worse as the Full Moon approached, each day their volume increased. On the actual night for the Full Moon Shukaku would usually scream continuously, never pausing even once until the sun rose in the morning.

Needless to say, Gaara couldn't stand it. To cope he usually spent the entire day and night of the Full Moon isolated in the desert, as much for his own sake as anyone who would be so unlucky as to approach him at such a time. He was never able to sleep on that night, but then again he was never able to sleep period. He could count the number of hours of sleep he had gotten in his life on his fingers. The Shukaku might be willing to have civil consecrations with him, but if Gaara was to go to sleep, well, Shukaku never was the type to show restraint. Ironically, the same thing that prohibited him from sleeping was the same thing that made it survivable. Due to the Shukaku's chakra, Gaara had been able to function with only about five minutes of sleep per year.

He wouldn't even have the five minutes, but there was always someone to fight, and Suna couldn't have anyone but their 'secret' weapon risking their lives. Some of the opponents were so strong that Gaara was forced to use the **Playing Possum Jutsu**, and he often did, if only for the few minutes of rest it afforded him.

The door of the Oasis opened, startling Gaara out of his thoughts. Ignoring the rantings of the now slightly less then sane Shukaku, Gaara focused on Crocodile and Daz who were walking towards him.

"Have you made your choice?" Crocodile asked after taking a seat across from Gaara and lighting his cigar.

"No, I would like more information before making a decision," Gaara said.

"Hn, good choice," Crocodile responded, "Never go in blind if you can help it. Anyhow, allow me to explain. I'm sure you're aware of the sea that surrounds the Elemental Countries, right?"

Gaara nodded. "Of course I am, although I cannot claim to have seen it for myself."

"That's not an issue, it's the fact that it exists that you need to worry about."

"The fact that it exists?"

"Hn, okay, rather the fact that things exist in and beyond it," Crocodile amended. "And quite a few of those things have now focused their attention of the Elemental Nations."

Gaara's face remained stoic. "That's hard to believe."

"Whether of not you believe it, things exist out in that sea, and they're coming here," Daz said, speaking for the first time.

"What sorts of things, then? And why? Why now, for that matter," Gaara asked.

"The first two are easy, the third I honestly don't have an answer to," Crocodile admitted. "As to the first, a group known as the World Government and a militaristic organization known as the Marines are your biggest concern. The World Government is an over-arching power that controls an alliance of over one-hundred and seventy countries while the Marines are a group that posses military power that surpasses everything that the Elemental Nations has to offer. To give you a frame of reference, the Five Kage are probably as strong as a Marine Vice-Admiral."

"The rank of Vice-Admiral is the third highest in the Navy, or Marines, they go by both names," he continued. "There are probably about fifty of them in the Navy, although a decent number of them are giants and weaker than the human ones."

"Giants?" Gaara asked incredulously.

"You'll know one when you see one, until then lets move on," Crocodile said. "As you can see, the Elemental Countries wouldn't last a month under the onslaught of the Navy, and that's without even factoring in the World Government."

"Now as for why, well, they want the land. I'm not going to give you a geography lesson, but the World Government wants an island in this part of the sea that is under their control. They used to hav most of the island in this area under their thumb, but due to a certain incident the islands broke away from them. Without an island to act as a staging point, the World Government can't really do anything. Do you see?"

Gaara's eyes widened. "They want to use the Elemental Nations as their staging point."

"Exactly," said Daz.

Gaara closed his eyes for a moment, then they opened again. "I'm in. But, I must ask, what exactly is your group? If you have the power to stand up this World Government then you must be quite the group."

Crocodile smiled for the first time since he had landed in the Elemental Nations. "Kuhahahahaha, we aren't really strong enough to fight them head on, not at the moment at least. Our group has two leaders who will be dealing with that problem, so no need to worry. As to what we are, well, to put it bluntly we're pirates. By extension I suppose that makes you a pirate. Maybe you need a new name. Gaara of the Sea, perhaps? Kuhahahahaha."

* * *

**(A/N: Yosha! Done with Suna for the time being, but we'll be going back again later. Now, I guess I should address the power level issue. I have received several comments about the Ninja being to weak. My response to that is sorry, I guess, but that's the way it is. Later in the story they'll be stronger and some will even be slightly overpowered, but for now they are pretty weak. Honestly, if Tsunade challenged Zoro right now it would look like Zoro vs Mrs. Monday. Hopefully that gives you an idea of where the Ninja stand. If you don't like that, well, there are plenty of Naruto/One Piece Crossovers with overpowered Ninja out their, it shouldn't be too hard to find one.)**

**[A/N P.S: If anyone has any ideas for the quotes or funny comments in the Reading Guide, please don't hesitate to comment or PM me.]**


	8. Can You See Me?

Reading Guide

**"Gaki"** Biju talking

**'Gaki'** Biju thinking

"Hello" Person talking

'Hello' Person thinking

_"Gaara stared up at the half full moon"_ Flashback

**"Negative Hollow"** Technique name

**- Elemental Countries -** Place

_**"LUFFY!"**_ Boa Hancock (Fangirl Mode)

Disclaimer: When Naruto gives up ramen I shall own his show and when Luffy gives up meat, I shall find a bomb shelter to hide in for the end is nigh.

* * *

**- Konoha: Barbeque Restaurant -**

Neji frowned, "Zoro, huh? And where might you be from?"

The man smiled, "And why does it matter to you?"

"I'm a ninja of this Village, and as such protecting it is my duty," Neji responded. "You are hardly unthreatening. Understand?"

"Ha, yeah I get it."

The man continued to smile. "Whatever, I'll tell you, but your buddies don't need to know, understand?" the man said, his smile widening and his tone becoming slightly patronizing.

"Fine," Neji replied, only slightly annoyed. Sitting down across from Zoro he waited for him to speak.

"Well, if I'm going to give you information, why don't you give me some? How did you pick me out?" Zoro asked.

Neji began to respond, but Zoro held up a hand. "No, honestly. If I was just a ruffian you would be able to tell. I could cause serious damage to this Village if I so chose, but how did you know that?"

"The aura around you," Neji said. "Both the feeling you exude and the aura I can see."

Zoro was already lost, "See?"

Neji sighed, "Where are you from?"

"Nowhere around here," Zoro responded.

"I would say," Neji said. "Hn, I assume you wish this conversation to be private?"

"Yes, I would," Zoro agreed.

"Very well, I will erect a privacy barrier, but in exchange you have to answer my questions, you can ask your own later."

"Ha, straight to the point, huh? Well, whatever. And perfect timing, my food is here," Zoro commented. The waitress served Zoro his sake and them placed a large platter of meat on the table before walking away. As soon as the waitress was done Neji erected the privacy barrier, and the discussion began in earnest.

* * *

"What's Neji doing?" Tenten asked.

"Troublesome. . ." Shikamaru sighed.

"You know, don't you?" Tenten accused. "Tell me."

"Whatever," Shikamaru said, sighing again. "That guy's a threat, and Neji is trying to avoid pissing him off. Just by looking at him you can tell he's not the type you want to cross."

"Yeah," Choji said, "But really, how strong can he be? He said that he 'could cause serious damage to this Village,' but how much could he really doo against all the ninja of Konoha?'

"I don't know, but Neji only took serious interest in him after using his **Byakugan**. I have a feeling that he saw something that the rest of us didn't," Asuma said.

"Exactly, and it's also probably why he said that he didn't know what that guy was. Still, if Neji doesn't know what he is, then what could he possibly be?" Shikamaru asked.

"I don't know," said Asuma, "But probably nothing good."

* * *

**(30 Minutes Later)**

The barrier went down allowing Tenten Asuma Choji and Shikamaru to see the table once again. The all let out a sigh of relief. They had only seen enough to confirm that neither Neji or the man was fatally wounded, but that was almost what they had been expecting. The aforementioned pair then rose and calmly walked out of the restaurant, leaving four very confused shinobi behind them.

* * *

**- Konoha: Training Ground 2 -**

Training Ground 2 was Konoha's largest training ground, even bigger than the forest of death. Around the edges it had terrain meant to simulate almost any environment, but the real portion of interest was the center. The center consisted of a massive clearing, almost four kilometers in diameter. This was the area where Neji and Zoro had chosen to fight.

The two warriors stood across from each other, completely still. Looking into each other's eyes they gauged their opponents strength. After a moment Neji shot forward. As he sprinted forward he activated his family techniques.

Entering range, he sent multiple high speed jabs towards Zoro, who managed to dodge them all. Jumping back, Neji began to launch kunai at high speeds. Kunai really weren't his style, but after spending a few years on a team with Tenten, he fully understood the value of using them. Zoro looked at the incoming kunai and smirked. With that he closed his good eye.

'What's he doing?' Neji thought. 'Closing his good eye, how does he hope to avoid my attacks?' Despite Neji's thoughts, Zoro managed to flawlessly dodge the first wave of kunai. 'Amazing,' Neji thught. 'Well, let's see how he deals with this.'

Using his **Byakugan**, Neji focused on Zoro and began throwing his kunai again. Just like last time, Zoro began to dodge with very little effort. Kunai whizzed by on his left and right, some even flying over his head. 'NOW!' Neji thought.

Time seemed to slow down. Zoro had kunai all around him, preventing him from dodging in any direction. Racing towards him was another kunai, aimed at his heart. To dodge it he would to have to throw himself into the path on another kunai, but to remain still was suicide. Using his **Byakugan** Neji had created an inescapable midair labyrinth of kunai. 'Time to see if he's really as good as he said he was,' Neji thought. Zoro's smirk only widened.

Launching himself into the air, Zoro leaned forward to avoid the kunai that had been heading at the space that was previously above his head. Letting his feet rise off the ground, his body became perfectly parallel to the ground. He watched as the kunai which was aimed at his heart sailed below him and the kunai that had been preventing him from going up sailed harmlessly over his head.

'Amazing, he not only managed to pull off a move like that, but he did so facing the ground,' Neji thought. 'But, not good enough.' Applying chakra to his feet he **Shunshined** above Zoro, a kunai in hand. If it was possible, Zoro's smirk widened, although Neji couldn't see it. Reaching behind his head, Zoro grabbed the kunai that had previously been aimed above him. With it firmly in his grasp he reached up and executed a midair roll. Holding onto Neji.

The move threw Neji to the ground. Realizing his peril, he tried to move, but he wasn't nearly quick enough. Landing on top of him Zoro pinned one of his arms so he couldn't perform a **Substitution** and held the kunai he had caught up to Neji's neck.

Opening his eye, Zoro spoke. "I win. Looks like our little deal will be coming into play, huh?"

Sighing, Neji nodded.

* * *

The swordsman and the ninja walked down the road, each still not completely trusting the other. They were saved from their awkward silence by a blonde. And no, it wasn't Naruto, he was busy training with a certain white haired man who would later become great friends with Sanji.

"Who are you?" Ino asked curiously. "I saw you earlier and I was wondering who you were."

Neji grimaced. Noticing his look Zoro frowned. "What's wrong?" the swordsman asked.

"She's Ino," Neji said, introducing the girl to Zoro. "She's one of my friends. She would have been eating with me and her team, but she had to run some errands for her mom's flower shop. She probably saw you while she was making a delivery."

"Alright," Zoro responded, "What's the problem."

"She's a hopeless gossip."

"Am not," Ino pouted.

"Really?" Neji asked. Sighing again, he turned towards Zoro. "Knowing Ino, every single person in the Village knows about you. It's probably best to tell her the things you told me."

"Why."

"If you don't she'll make up rumors ten times worse than anything you might be hiding. I didn't get the full story, but what you told me and our agreement should be enough to satisfy her."

"Stop talking about me like I'm not here," Ino said, continuing to pout.

"Fine," Zoro growled. "I'll tell you."

* * *

**- Grand Line: Paradise -**

"Thank you," Law added as he left the bar. Luffy had left some time previously, but Law had remained to hammer out the details. 'We have our first ally outside of the Alliance,' Law thought. Sure, the Alliance was strong, but they weren't strong enough to take the World Government head on. As pirates they the World Government had to come to them, and even then, the could always escape. Once the war began, though, that would all change. They would be forced to fight the World Government and running wouldn't be an option.

Luffy and Law both understood this, and so they had compiled a list. The list was made up of powerful people and groups that were not directly associated with any other Superpower that might be willing to aid them. If they managed to convince everyone on the list to join them, then they might be able to hold off the World Government. Might. 'Worst case scenario we can always retreat, but that option has it's own problems. Losing in that type of situation, it would be bad. It might even, no, it wouldn't. Could it. . . ?"

* * *

**(A/N: Okay, two major things I want to go over. The first is the timeline. When stating times I will use the same format as I do for places. As for when I will state times, I will do so whenever there is a time skip of 2 weeks or more or it is need to understand the story. Next up is the move Zoro used. Think of it as a backwards version of what the Third Raikage did to avoid Naruto's initial attack. Basically, instead of facing up like the Raikage was he faced the ground when he used the move. Oh, and I just wanted to say that this story now has 5,000 views, so thank you.)**


	9. The Opposition Moves

Reading Guide

**"Gaki"** Biju talking

**'Gaki'** Biju thinking

"Hello" Person talking

'Hello' Person thinking

_"Gaara stared up at the half full moon"_ Flashback

**"Negative Hollow"** Technique name

**- Elemental Countries -** Place

_**"Sasuke!"**_ Sakura **_"SHUT UP!"_** Everyone else

Disclaimer: I'm in league with Soviet Russia. When they take over the world Japan will be mine, and so will One Piece and Naruto. Somehow, I haven't worked out the details yet

* * *

**- New World: Marineford -**

The main meeting room was packed full of Marine's, all of them ranked Rear Admiral or higher. Along each side of the room there were three sears, and in each a Warlord sat. The final Warlord Kuma, or PX-0, stood guard near the main entrance to the room. The conversations died down as Sakazuki rose from his chair at the head of the room.

"Two years ago, and one year after the War of the Best, another attack on Justice occurred. The heathen Dragon stoked the flames of revolution in South Blue, and inspired criminals to rise up and over throw their just governments. For two years, those very criminals have reigned supreme, and there was nothing we could do, until now. We have recently discovered a new island in South Blue, as I'm sure you are all aware. We can use it as a staging point to launch a campaign to bring justice back to the South."

"Yeah, so are we attacking the island or just commandeering it?" Smoker asked.

"That remains to be seen," Sakazuki said. "We will attempt negotiations first, but if they fail then we will have no choice but to act."

"What information do we have on the island?" Kadar asked.

Doflamingo laughed, "Not nearly as much as you probably want."

"What do you mean by that?" Kadar asked.

"You don't know?' Doflamingo smirked. "Well, Itami and I have been put in charge of gathering information. We are the ones who were responsible for the island's discovery, after all."

"What?" Sicily asked. "The article I read stated that the island was discovered by the former Marine Nakara."

"That's true, but how do you think Nakara knew there was something there?" Doflamingo replied. "Because we told him, of course," he continued, answering his own question.

"But how did you know?" Sicily countered.

Itami was the one to respond this time. "Because I have visited that island before." He was a man, that much was obvious. Besides that, not much else was known about him, a rather surprising thing considering he was one of the Seven Warlords. He always wore a cloak that covered his entire body, and his face was perpetually hidden in the shadows of his cowl. He even went so far as to wear gloves so that none of his skin was visible.

He had joined the Warlords about five months previously. Although he was completely unknown, he managed to take down Diamond Jozu and so he was able to join the Warlords in much the same way that Teach had. His past was almost a complete blank, and his powers were even more mysterious. The only one who knew anything worthwhile about him was Doflamingo. Of course, it was rumored that Itami had been bartering information with the World Nobles, but rumors were just rumors.

As for his connection to Doflamingo, well, it was an interesting story. After Doflamingo's defeat at the hands of Luffy, he feared that the World Government would attempt to have him removed in much the same way they did with Moria. Acting quickly, he was able to contain the story to the island of Dressrosa and save his reputation from being sullied. Despite that, the World Government still wasn't pleased with him. In an attempt to regain their favor he left the New World and entered South Blue. There he wandered about destroying any pirate crew he happened across, making those who saw him view the World Government in a better light. It was during that period that he met Itami. The rest of the story was one huge blank, at least to everyone else.

Boa Hancock sighed. "This is a waste of my time, get to point or I'm leaving," she announced. It was hardly surprising, really. The only reason that all seven of the Warlords had bothered to show up was that the World Government had threatened to revoke their positions.

"Fine," Sakazuki replied. "We currently have agents on the island. They are gathering information in case it should be needed, and in one weeks time some of them shall open negotiations. If the negotiations go well then you will all receive a message detailing when you have to reach the island and how much or your forces to bring with you."

"Our forces?" Mihawk asked.

"I didn't mean you," Sakazuki responded, obviously annoyed. "I was referring to Hancock's Kuja Pirates and Doflamingo's little gang as well as Buggy's, oh, never mind."

"Anyhow, assuming the negotiations fall through you will receive a notice of that as well. If that occurs our agents will continue to gather information. Once we have enough you will then receive a second letter detailing the time of the invasion and a general outline of the plan. Clear?"

"It's pretty self explanatory," Borsalino commented.

The room remained silent for a moment before Vice Admiral Cancer spoke up. "I understand the plan, but I do have a question."

"Which is?" Borsalino asked.

"Well, I was wondering if our agents had already managed to dig up any interesting information about the island or it's inhabitants," Cancer continued.

"Oh," Borsalino said, drawing it out. "They have, but the information is a bit unclear at this point. The only concrete thing of interest our agents have noticed actually has very little to do with the either the island or it's inhabitants."

"Huh?" Cancer asked.

"What Borsalino means," Issho said, "Is that we have multiple sightings of pirates on the island, and not just any pirates. Most notably, the Pirate Hunter Zoro and Black Leg Sanji were spotted in one of the five major villages on the island. Hundred Hand Gin was also spotted in another of the major cities. All three of these pirates are part of the two main crews of the We Are Alliance, with Zoro even being a First Mate. The We Are Alliance has obviously taken an interest in the island, and they're serious if they're willing to send high ranking members of their little group so far away from the New World."

Hancock stopped listening at Zoro. 'Zoro? He's Luffy's First Mate, isn't he? What would he be doing on that island? He must be their because the We Are Alliance sent him there, but why someone so important?' Hancock gasped, 'They must be trying to stop the Marines from taking the island! Oh, Luffy, I hope you'll be alright.' At that point Hancock's thoughts wandered off into a field where they laid down and dreamed about Luffy. She was just at the part where he asked her to marry him when she realized that the room was completely silent. Snapping out of her daze, she looked around to find everyone looking at her. "Um. . . Yes?"

* * *

**- Land of Fire: Konoha -**

"And that's about it," Zoro said. He had finished telling her everything he had already told Neji and she soaked it up like a sponge. He had told her his cover story, just like with Neji. The story consisted of grains of truth with a whole lot of bullshit in between to fill in the holes. It went something along the lines of "I was hired by a gourmet chef named Sanji to be his body guard. Sanji used to work in a restaurant on an island far from the Elemental Countries, but he was forced to leave because a local gang was after him after he kicked one of their members out of his restaurant for forcing himself on one of the female patrons. After while, Sanji was driven out of town by the gang and he hired me to protect him. At that point we wandered around until we landed on this island. Deciding he liked it, Sanji chose to set up a new restaurant in one of the cities here, and he chose Konoha."

Of course, that story was nothing like the one Law had given him, but Zoro saw an opportunity an he took it. If this Ino was even half as bad as Neji said then in a matter of days the entire Village would know his story and Sanji would be forced to play the part of a weak cook who needed to be protected. The very thought made him smile. 'Revenge is sweet,' he thought to himself.

* * *

**IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ**

**(A/N: I know that Itami doesn't fit in with the cannon, and that was unavoidable for the sake of future plot development. To make things clear, in this fanfic the Seventh Warlord position remained open for the entire timeskip and a while after it as well. Itami will be very import to the plot later and that's the only reason that I'm making this kind of change in the cannon for him. And yes, I considered having him replace Doflamingo but I shot that idea down for several reasons, most of which will become apparent later, but not any time soon.)**


	10. White Lightning

Reading Guide

**"Gaki"** Biju talking

**'Gaki'** Biju thinking

"Hello" Person talking

'Hello' Person thinking

_"Gaara stared up at the half full moon"_ Flashback

**"Negative Hollow"** Technique name

**- Elemental Countries -** Place

_**"ITACHI!"**_ Sasuke

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto the Sakura would fall of a cliff. Hey, I didn't say she would die, I just said she would fall of a cliff. Then she would land on a sleeping Zoro. Yeah, who am I kidding, she'd die.

* * *

**- New World: Thriller Bark -**

Luffy picked up the Den Den Mushi. "I'M GOING TO BE THE PRIATE KING!"

The Den Den Mushi smiled slightly, "Hello, Luffy-kun."

Across the room Law sat up. "A call? From who?" he asked.

"I am Jimbe," the voice from the Den Den Mushi replied. "I'm calling representing Fishman Island. We intend to make our stance on the issue of the Elemental Nations clear."

"What do you mean?" Luffy said frowning. "You can't help us. If you did the World Government would attack you, under our protection or not." After the fight with Hordy Luffy had sworn to claim Fishman Island and he had. His original plan had been to take down Big Mam and then make Fishman Island his territory, but that plan was shot to hell when Big Mam released her hold on the island. By that point Law and Luffy had taken down Kaido, and so they had sufficient reputation to claim Fishman Island without risk of weaker pirates attacking it to attract their attention. If they hadn't claimed the island when they did, well, things would have gotten ugly.

"I'm aware of that, Luffy-kun," Jimbe responded. "Although Fishman Island cannot help you directly, I can. Beyond that, we possess information that you might find valuable.

"Like what?" Luffy asked.

"Mmmm. . ." Jimbe hummed lightly. "As you know, Fishman can survive underwater, and the conditions of the Grand Line are rarely dangerous to Fishmen. Long ago when Queen Otohime was still alive a wandering Fishman reported that he had discovered an island in the middle of the so called 'Dead Zone.' At the time Otohime decided that since the island was so secluded that the racism against our kind should be nonexistent there and so she sent a group of Fishmen to settle in the land. We haven't received word from them since, but should you come across any of them they should be willing to help you in your efforts.

"So, we have the support of Fishman Island, indirectly, and your support directly? That's good news. Thanks Jimbe-ya," Law replied.

"Shishishi," Luffy laughed after hanging up the Den Den Mushi. "Our recruiting is going so well! Hey, now that I think about it we should go talk with him about all this since we're back on Thriller Bark."

* * *

**- Land of Fire: Konoha -**

If someone had told her that in a weeks time she would be escorted down the main street of Konoha by a womanizer that appeared to be a Kage level fighter, Hinata world have laughed in their face. Despite that, that was pretty much the situation that she currently found herself in. Looking over at her companion she noticed that his eyes had gone back to normal.

"W-w-where," Hinata stuttered. Collecting her thoughts, she forged ahead. "W-where are you f-from?"

The man looked in her direction and was about to answer when he froze. Every muscle in his body tensed and his eyes swiveled to stare down the street. Following the path of his eyes Hinata saw a green haired man standing with Neji and Ino. Wondering who he was, she quietly activated her **Byakugan**.

She received the second shock of the day at what she saw. The green haired man lacked a chakra system as well. That must be why Sanji was interested in him. Perhaps they were friends.

That particular thought didn't last long as the two charged each other head on and began to hurl insults at each other. As they did so, Hinata saw the green haired man and Sanji begin to glow. It was as if they had caught on fire. The green haired man was wreathed in blue flames while Sanji's flames were red. Wherever the two types of flames met they would fight for dominance, just as it seemed that the men who made them would.

'Now that I think about it, those auras where always present,' Hinata mused to herself. 'I saw Sanji's aura back at the training ground. It was so much weaker than it is now, but it was still red. But it's not really red, is it? Sanji's aura is like the embers of a dying fire, a comforting red. The other man's aura,' Hinata shivered. 'It seems normal is exceedingly strong, but there's something else there. Something bad.'

Noticing his cousin for the first time since the two foriegners had started fighting, Neji rushed over to her. "Hinata-sama, are you alright?" he asked. "It seems that you met Sanji, and the other man there is Zoro."

"Zoro?" Hinata asked.

Neji sighed. "It seems I must start from the beginning. Allow me to explain."

* * *

**(One Hour Later)**

Neji, Hinata Zoro and Sanji all stood in front of the Hyuga Elders.

"You're hiding something," Hiashi said.

Sanji smiled, "Yes, but if you cover for us, we'll be more than happy to pay you back."

Zoro snorted. 'When I offered to train Neji in return for covering for me, I didn't expect this. I offered Sanji's services too, hoping to piss him of, but he's happy as a clam. Damn ero-cook, figures that Neji's cousin is Sanji's type. Every woman is his type.' Bringing himself back to reality, Zoro looked up. 'Still, this turned out better than expected. I thought Neji could show us around the city and help cover for us, but if his entire clan is covering for us, well, that'd be good.'

"Yeah, I'm willing to train Neji, and ero-cook would be all to happy to train Hinata," Zoro added. "All you have to do is cover for us. We don't even pose any threat to your Village, if anything we're assets."

The Hyuga elders on either side of Hiashi leaned over and began to whisper in his ear. After a moment Hashi sighed and stood up. "We would like to see a demonstration of your abilities, and if they are satisfactory we will cover for you. We'll make sure that the other clans don't question your presence and we'll back up your story. But. . ." he added, "Should you become a threat to the Village we _will _eliminate you."

Zoro smirked again. "I'd expect nothing less."

* * *

Zoro and Sanji stood facing each other in one of the Hyuga's private training grounds.

"Ready, marimo?"

"Of course, dartboard brow."

With the opening banter out of the fight out of the way, the fight began, Sanji shot forward using his own version of **Soru** and launched a sweeping kick. Zoro ducked under the kick, then he unsheathed the Shisui and jumped back. Keeping his momentum Sanji continued to turn and after making a complete rotation he fired a **Rankyaku** straight at Zoro, who deflected the attack. Shooting forward Zoro began a barrage of sword strikes which Sanji blocked with his leg. From years of training Sanji's legs had developed an almost permanent **Tekkai**, something which annoyed Zoro to no end.

Hardened legs or not, the fact remained that Sanji was being driven back. 'The swordsman's not holding back, for one sword style, that is. We don't want to show these shinobi the full scope of our abilities, but showing off a little won't hurt.' "**Kamisori. . .**"

Hinata's eyes widened. 'That's the technique he used earlier.' Alongside her the Hyuga elders and her father all strained their already active **Byakugan**. The only one who managed to see anything was Hiashi, and even he only saw Sanji's shadow moving over the ground at insane speeds.

"**Rankyaku**"

As soon as finished the word he began launching **Rankyaku** which flew at Zoro from all sides. The Shisui danced, deflecting the attacks and even cutting them clean in two occasionally. "Not bad, shitty chef, but you'll have to do better to break my defense," Zoro laughed.

"I'm not done yet, moss head," Sanji's voice sounded, distorted by the extreme speed at which he was moving. "Take this!"

"**Hakurai**"

'Huh?' Zoro had just enough time to wonder before he was forced to focus of deflecting the now much more powerful attacks that were coming his way. '**Hakurai**? Kaku used that move, but he did it using both legs. How is Sanji doing it and managing to keep up **Kamisori** at the same time?!'

Focusing on his eyes Zoro's enhanced senses soon adjusted to deal with Sanji's speed and the swordsman could see him as clearly as if Sanji was simply going for a stroll. Just as the Hyuga's eyes had widened a minute earlier, Zoro's eyes also widened. 'He's using his hands?! I've never heard of that, and how can his hands deal with that kind of strain?'

_"You may have good legs, but your hands are useless."_

_"In a fight your hands can cause about as much damage as Ussop's nose."_

_"Figures a second rate chef like you could only fight using half of his body."_

Zoro sweatdropped. 'It's my fault, isn't it? He must have taken the insults as a challenge. . .'

"Not bad, for a second rate chef," Zoro taunted, "But I'm about to get serious."

"**Maki**"

Zoro swung the Shisui and turned in a full circle lowering the sword as he neared the starting point. In the past he would have needed three swords to use anything like he** Tatsu Maki**, but that was in the past. The **Twister** was a less powerful version of the **Tatsu Maki**, but that was to be expected considering it only used one sword.

Everything slowed down for a moment, and then Sanji's **Hakurai **attacks shattered. Sanji landed on the other side of the training ground looking only mildly disoriented.

"As much as I would like to continue this," Zoro said, "We still have to build your restaurant." Looking over his shoulder he faced the Hyuga elders. "I believe that you now understand our abilities enough to make your decision. We'll come back tomorrow. Until then we have to get to work on the second rate chef's shop."

* * *

**(A/N: Today's Friday, isn't it. . . Sorry about not updating yesterday, but I was studying for a test. A unit test. A _Latin_ unit test. Anyhow, I have a few things to address. Firstly, I'll be incorporating a lot of Rokushiki into this story, so you are warned. Secondly, I would like to mention that your comments help the story. The initial segment of this chapter was inspired by Peter Kim's comment. I had considered the Fishmen, but I had honestly overlooked the whole deal about whether they had claimed it or not, so thanks Peter. Oh yeah, I would also like to warn you that movie characters from both anime may be making appearances and I will be treating the movies and some of the filler in both shows like cannon.)**


	11. Romance Dawn

Reading Guide

**"Gaki"** Biju talking

**'Gaki'** Biju thinking

"Hello" Person talking

'Hello' Person thinking

_"Gaara stared up at the half full moon"_ Flashback

**"Negative Hollow"** Technique name

**- Elemental Countries -** Place

_**"AVADA CADAVRA!"**_ Tom A.K.A Voldemort

Disclaimer: I didn't own One Piece or Naruto last week and I still don't. I'm good, but not that good.

* * *

**- Land of Frost: Outside Shimo -**

Itachi reached up and adjusted his straw hat so it cast his face into the shadows. Beside him his partner did the same. Thus prepared, the duo headed into the town. They walked down the busy streets at a relaxed pace, and despite their odd attire they hardly received a second glance.

"Here it is," Kisame said.

Nodding slightly Itachi walked into the crowded park and Kisame followed him. The pair waded through children, couples and even a few older women who were presumably grandmothers. They walked casually until they reached a circle of trees in the center of the part, inside which was a table at which a figure sat. They paused outside the grove, and Kisame looked at Itachi.

"I don't sense anything. Do you?"

"No," Itachi replied, "The area is clear."

Once assured of the safety of the area which they were about to enter they continued. Itachi sat down at the table across from the hooded figure while Kisame chose to lean against a tree that was near to the table. Around them children were playing and rich laughter sounded, but inside the grove silence reigned. Itachi finally broke the tense atmosphere and introduced himself.

"My name is Itachi and over there is Kisame. We were sent by Akatsuki in response to your. . . request."

* * *

**(One Week Before)**

Kisame and Itachi walked into the throne room. It wasn't really a throne room, but that was what Deidara called it and the name stuck. At the far end of the room sat Nagato, or Pein as he liked to be called.

"You summoned us," Itachi said in the dull monotone of his.

"Yes, you were in the area so I summoned you personally. I have a job for you."

Kisame smirked. "What, or who, do we destroy?"

"Nothing, yet," Pein responded. "I have received a request from a client calling herself Sunday. She sent a us a full pound of solid gold just to meet her. It's safe to assume that whatever she wants is quite important. Meet with her and then report back."

"Where?" Itachi intoned.

"The Land of Frost. It's neighboring to the Land of Lightning. Their Hidden Village is called Shimogakure, and you are to meet at a large park in a district outside the city limits. Sunday said that there would be a grove of trees and that she would be waiting there in a ten days time at noon. It took you three days to arrive here, so you must be at the grove in one week at noon. Any questions?"

There were none.

* * *

"I'm glad you came," Sunday responded. "Things are going to be changing, two forces will clash and the shinobi will be caught in the crossfire. We need to know where you stand. We are willing to pay you to support us, but we would much prefer if you supported us freely."

"Two forces?" Kisame asked, completely lost.

Sunday nodded. "Yes, and I represent one of them. Haven't you ever wondered what lies beyond the Elemental Nations? Well, that sea contains many great forces, two of which have set their eyes on this land. The fight is all but inavertible, but we will try to avert it nonetheless. There is little hope on that front, and so we need to know where you stand. All you must do at this time is answer a single question. How much do you value freedom and the possibility of peace?"

"Freedom? Peace?" Itachi questioned.

"Freedom to live and die for yourself or your Village, whichever you may value. Although we cannot truly offer peace, we _can _say that if you chose the other side in the upcoming war then peace will never occur. "

"War?" Kisame snorted. "You seem to be taking this quite seriously. Honestly it's all too unbelievable."

Sunday seemed surprised. "I was surprised to see one of your kind here, and I though you would know what I was talking about. Do you not know about your. . . own history?"

Kisame looked decidedly unnerved by the direction the conversation was headed. "My kind? I'm human, thank you very much. My shark like appearance is the result of Kiri's human-shark modification process. It was a process that allowed humans to gain shark like traits, such as the ability to breath underwater. Out of fifty babies who underwent the process I was the only one to survive. Because of the extremely poor success rate the experiment was discontinued, and so I am unique."

"Really?" Sunday asked, not seeming to believe it. "Well, believe me or not, it matters little. The war will come. All we need is for you and your group to consider the question I posed. Do that and consider the pound of gold fully repaid. Should any of you decide you want more information, then you should seek us out. In the desert there is a certain crocodile that would be willing to help you."

The three sat, or in Kisame's case stood, for a full minute before Sunday simply seemed to dissolve. Flower petals appeared around her and then both she and the flower petals disappeared completely.

"Interesting power she has," Itachi commented.

* * *

**- Land of Wind: Akatsuki Hideout -**

**(One Week Later)**

Inside a hidden cave in the Land of Wind there was a statue with ten fingers and ten figures, each figure residing on one of the fingers.

"Why have you called us here," one of the figures asked. "It may only be a projectile meeting, whats so important as to call a meeting in the first place? We aren't ready to start capturing the Biju yet and I have a bounty to cash."

"Aw, quit complaining Kakazu, un," another figure responded.

"I'm actually with the fuck this time," another shadow spoke. "I don't care about his damned bounty buy why the fuck were we called here?"

"Silence," Pein said in a relatively quiet voice that was commanding at the same time. "I summoned you to give you information we recently received."

Pein the explained about Itachi's and Kisame's encounter with 'Sunday.'

"Hahahahahaha, un! Sasori my man, you owe me 1,000,000 ryo, so pay up!"

The smallest figure in the circle shook his head. "You have no proof. If we encounter this 'Sunday' you can asker her yourself and if she can provide evidence then I will pay up."

"1,000,000 ryo?" the first figure spoke again.

"It's none of your business moneygrubber, un."

"Off topic," the black half of one of the figure said. "Yeah," the white half agreed. "The question is do we take her seriously or disregard the information?"

"What information?" the first figure laughed. "All we got were vague hints about a war and that cryptic crocodile in the desert statement."

"Desert," the smallest figure spoke again. "The Land of Wind, most likely. It is safe to assume that the 'crocodile' is in Suna. How else would they expect us to be able to find it?"

"Yeah, un. I'm interested and it seems that my partner is too. Hey, Leader-sama, care if we look into this?"

The purple eyed leader shook his head. "So long as you report your findings feel free to investigate as much as you desire."

"Good," the first figure commented. "Now if you'll excuse me, I still have to cash my bounty. I take it this meeting is concluded?"

"Yes."

Without a word the first figure disappeared. "Asshole. . . well I guess that I have to go too, wouldn't want that fucker of a partner to get his panties in a twist." That said a second figure disappeared.

After that the figures disappeared one by one until only three were left.

"That reminds me, un," one of them spoke. "Tobi, you're not a full fledged member of Akatsuki, you shouldn't be standing on one of the fingers."

"But Tobi's a good boy. . ."

"Don't, just don't. You really need to grow up Deidara, don't argue with him. Tobi, just. . . never mind. Anyhow, let's go."

Two of the three remaining figures disappeared.

'Well, that was unaccounted for. A war, huh, and one between two outside forces. That doesn't fit into my plans at all. This could be problematic, especially if the Akatsuki gets sucked in. I don't have enough information. . . it looks like Deidara and Sasori won't be the only ones doing research.'

* * *

**(A/N: First off, yes, I do realize what a bad pun the title is. Moving on. There wasn't a second update this week because I've been working on the whole Fishman Village fiasco. I would just write it as there is a Village Hidden in the Sea or something but that would just be lazy. I have a great idea for what to do, but working out the timetables is an absolute nightmare.)**


	12. Revelations

Reading Guide

**"Gaki"** Biju talking

**'Gaki'** Biju thinking

"Hello" Person talking

'Hello' Person thinking

_"Gaara stared up at the half full moon"_ Flashback

**"Negative Hollow"** Technique name

**- Elemental Countries -** Place

_**"MOMMY!"**_ Sasuke after Itachi went crazy

Disclaimer: Do I own Naruto and One Piece? You tell me.

* * *

**- Alabasta: Alubarna -**

Civilians walked down the busy streets like any other day, but unlike most days they made sure to steer clear of the eastern district. Instead, they formed groups and talked among themselves.

"Did you hear?"

"Of course I did."

"That pirate Wallen, what was his bounty again. . ."

"70 million."

"Yeah, that's it, crazy high."

"Ph, crazy high or not, I almost feel bad for the guy."

"Yeah, 70 million is nothing to the Executioner."

Wallen and his crew had taken over the Eastern District of Alubarna. How they had managed to get that deep into the kingdom without being noticed was anybody's guess, but they had. The crew had set up shot in a large tavern at the center of Alubarna's Eastern District and they had set up scouts all around the perimeter of the district. The Royal Army had yet to make a move, but for good reason. One of the We Are Commandants was coming all the way to Alubarna just to make a point of Wallen. The Executioner.

* * *

At the same time the very Executioner they were talking about was walking down the deserted streets of the Eastern District muttering to himself.

"So boring. No one worth my time. Maybe the Captain can put up a decent fight? Na, he's only worth 70 mill, even the weakest Commandant has a bounty exceeding 200 million."

The ranking system for the We Are Alliance was convoluted, to say the least. The basic idea was that Luffy and Law were at the top, each with their crews and the Commandants under them. In order of actual rank, it went: Captain, Crew Commandants and the First Commandant, Main Crew Member, Sub-Commandants, Sub-Captains, Sub-Crew Members. The Crew Commandants from Luffy's crew were Zoro and Sanji, and for Law they were Bepo and Penguin. The First Commandant was Moria and along with the Crew Commandants they made up the second tier.

Of course, it was way more complicated than that. Just because a person was a higher rank than you didn't mean they could give you orders. Law couldn't order around members of Luffy's crew and the inverse was also true. Besides that there was an entire set of rules that were, and everyone agreed, entirely too complicated. It almost made one long for the dictatorship was the True Power Alliance. At least they all knew exactly where they stood.

By the time he had finished considering whether the Captain would pose even the slightest threat to him, he had already reached the bar where he was camped out. Looking at the place he almost moaned. Only an idiot would choose it as a stronghold, the place had almost no defensive capabilities. There were ten guards stationed around the perimeter, seven on ground level and three on the second floor of the tavern. _All_ of them stationary. Not only that, he could also count a good six blind spots, even considering the fields of vision for all of the guards. 'Talk about amateurs. . .'

Sighing he leapt onto the roof of the building next to the tavern. 'Might as well just get it over with, it's obvious this isn't going to be a challenge at all.'

Using a **Soru **the reappeared behind one of the three guards. Reaching out he grabbed the back of his head and lifted him off the ground. The guard was too shocked to react. 'One. . . two. . . three.'

The body in his hands, which had been tense only moments before, relaxed completely as the man fell into a deep sleep. Sighing once again in disappointment, the Executioner repeated the process with the other two second floor guards before dropping to the ground and eliminating all of the guards there the same why.

Seeing no need for subtly, he walked up to, and then through, the main door of the tavern. It wouldn't have been too impressive, but the Eastern District was the most dangerous part of Alubarna. All of the bars there had bars on the windows and doors made of solid iron, just like the one he walked strait thought. It was a bit flashy, but hey, he could do that kind of thing, so why not?

The room he entered was well lit and filled to the brim with pirates. At the far end of the room Wallen sat in a lavish chair, trying to look completely relaxed.

"So you came? I'm half surprised, but I also kind of expected it."

"Why?"

"Why?" Wallen laughed. "If I beat a Commandant from the We Are Alliance my reputation will skyrocket! People will be begging to join my crew! Does that answer your question."

"Yeah, I guessed as much," the Executioner responded. "Your first mistake was messing around in an area, albeit unofficially, protected by us. Your second mistake was not running. Your third mistake was your choice of location, and your fourth mistake was not having some sort of elaborate trap already set."

"Like we need a trap," Wallen scoffed. "Gillen, get him."

Gillen, Wallen's first mate and younger brother, shot forward. 'So slow. . .' the Executioner mentally moaned. 'This is why I hate coming to Paradise! Everyone here is so weak!'

Barely even blinking he lashed out with a kick that sent Gillen flying back at incredible speeds. He was stopped when he hit his brother, knocking them both out.

The Executioner looked around the room at all the assembled thugs. "You know, it's times like these where I wish I had the Conquerors Haki. Just stay sill and it will hurt less."

Without another word he blurred into action. The screams could be heard all throughout Alubarna and those who heard them smiled slightly, reassured by the knowledge that even if their island hadn't been claimed by the We Are Alliance it was still under their protection, just as many islands in Paradise were.

* * *

**- South Blue: Thriller Bark -**

"Robin!" Luffy yelled. "It's good to hear from you again!"

The Hollow smiled slightly. "It's good to speak with you as well, Captain-san."

"Introductions are great, but why did you use your Hollow, Robin-ya? Using the Den Den Mushi is a part of my strategy. I'm half hoping the Government picks up on some of them. I'd would let them know we're serious. What's so important that you decided that you couldn't risk the Government hearing about?" Law added. "You weren't worried about telling them catch wind of the civil war."

Another of the inventions of the We Are Alliance, the Hollow Phone allowed long distance communication using Perona's Hollows. It was like the Den Den Mushi, but there was no risk of a black Den Den Mushi overhearing the things that were said through the Hollow Phone.

"The civil war was different," Robin responded. "I recently met with two ninja belonging to a group called Akatsuki. There was a human called Itachi and a fishman claiming to be a human called Kisame. I didn't know that the fishmen had discovered this island."

Luffy nodded. "They did. Jimbe called us and said that there was a fishman Village on the island. Have you come across anything about it?"

The hollow frowned. "Fishman Village? No. Perhaps they are hiding, I wouldn't be surprised if the people in the Elemental Nations also discriminated against them. It would explain why Kisame is pretending to be a human. . ."

"We're getting off topic. . ." Law said. "Why is this Akatsuki worth using a hollow?"

"Well," Robin responded, "Despite being a group with less than ten members, they have the strength of an entire ninja village. They are a criminal organization that act as mercenaries, and they are very good at what they do. If the World Government was to hire them, things could get bad."

Law frowned. "Perhaps we should eliminate them," he mused.

"No," Luffy interjected. "We should recruit them and make them our nakama."

Law sighed, "Luffy, they're a dangerous criminal organization."

Luffy smiled in response. "Shishishi, yeah, but aren't we a dangerous criminal organization too?"

". . . He actually has a point," Law conceded. "Alright Robin-ya, please try to recruit them to our cause if possible. Preferably without paying them, but if payment is unavoidable then you have permission to hire them."

"I've already directed them towards Crocodile who is willing to try to recruit them," Robin replied. "That is all the important information I have managed to gather to this point in time. Have their been any changes in your situation?"

"Yeah!" Luffy exclaimed. "We're in South Blue now!"

"We came here for staging reasons," Law clarified. "Luffy and myself are still making frequent trips back to the Grand Line to try to recruit more people."

"I see," Robin said. "Actually, I do have another piece of information. The leader of Akatsuki is named Nagato, but there is a possibility that another member of the group, Tobi, is actually pulling the strings. Whether or not that's true, he has a very troublesome ability. He seems to be able to enter another dimension to avoid taking hits, a dangerous skill to say the least."

"No kidding," Law said. "Well, if that's all then your free to go." The hollow that Robin had been speaking through obviously understood the dismissal and flew off.

"Being able to step into another dimension. . ." Law mused. "A terrifying ability. It just goes to show how much of a disadvantage we are at until we understand exactly how this 'chakra' works. Still, before that we need to figure out a way to deal with this Tobi's power."

"It's like Blueno," Luffy added.

"Blueno?" Law asked.

"Yeah, Blueno. He was a member of CP9 and he could do something like that. Pity we can't ask him what the weaknesses of the technique are."

Law began to smile. "Who says we can't ask him? After you guys beat CP9 they broke off from the Government and went into hiding on an island. And I know where that island is."


	13. Justice Rising

Reading Guide

**"Gaki"** Biju talking

**'Gaki'** Biju thinking

"Hello" Person talking

'Hello' Person thinking

_"Gaara stared up at the half full moon"_ Flashback

**"Negative Hollow"** Technique name

**- Elemental Countries -** Place

_**"NO HOMEWORK!"**_ Every Student Ever

Disclaimer: I don't own a five dollar bill, do you really think I own Naruto and or One Piece. (Depressingly, it's true. I don't have a money issue, but I never seem to have five dollar bills.)

* * *

**- New World: Somano Island -**

Two men stood on a strangely shiny boat floating off the coast of a dark, foreboding island.

"I still think this is a bad idea. . ." Luffy said. "They're never going to help us."

Law smiled. "Don't be such a pessimist."

"Um. . . you do realize that we nearly killed them and got them all fired, right?"

"Yeah, and now thanks to you they're free to do whatever they want."

Luffy frowned. There was such a thing as being too optimistic. "Whatever. Still, I didn't think they'd be in a place like this."

"Of course not, no one would. That's exactly why their here. Welcome to Somano, a Night Island. Ironic hiding place, isn't it?"

"It is?"

"Just trust me."

* * *

Luffy and Law hiked through the dark forest on the island. The walked with a purpose, as if they knew where they were going. They didn't. Law's plan had turned out to be rather Luffy-ish, "Just walk around until something happen or we find something." Luffy had sugestd that they just use Observation Haki, but Law had replied that CP9's Life Return.

The Life Return was a technique which allowed a person to fully control their body, but at it's most basic level it allowed the user to control their spirit. By using a simpler version the Life Return all of CP9's members could hide themselves from even the strongest of Observation Haki, a very useful skill. Still, it did have it's weaknesses, mainly that it couldn't be used when fighting.

"Really, why do you think they'll help us?" Luffy asked.

"Well," Law responded, "CP9 isn't on the best of terms with the World Government now. The W.G. tried to have them eliminated. This isn't the first island that CP9 settled on, it's the second. The Marines attacked the first and so CP9 left so the Marines, and through them the World Government, couldn't locate them."

"So you want to offer them a place in the Alliance?" Luffy asked. "You're thinking of recruiting them to help us, aren't you?"

"Bingo," Law replied. Luffy simply shook his head.

* * *

Kaku jumped down from the tree he had been sitting on, looking off in the direction Luffy and Law had gone. 'Well, that was unexpected. I guess I better go tell Lucci. This could be a problem or a change to gain an advantage depending on how we play this.'

Jumping into the air he used **Geppo** to launch himself towards the base CP9 had set up, jokingly calling it the Tower of Night. As he got closer the shape of the base resolved itself. It wasn't really much of a tower, which was hardly surprising when one considered that they were attempting to hide their presence.

The base consisted of a large rectangular building two stories tall. It was made of greenish-gray stones that blended into the forest and the darkness of the night. Despite being two stores tall, the trees were tall enough to prevent the building from being seen from the shore.

Landing on the grass out in front of the main entrance, Kaku took a step forward and opened the door. Quickly walking down the hall he paused at each door on either side, knocked four times, and then continued on to the next. By the time he had reached the last door the first he had knocked on was already opening. Choosing to ignore the emerging figure, Kaku finished nocking on the final door and then proceeded to ascend the stairs at the end of the hall.

At the top of the stairs there was a large room filled with training equipment. Fukuro was standing in one corner of the room leading a group of children of varying ages through a training exercises for the **Shigan**.

Turning around and facing the stairs Kaku watched silently as the other members of CP9 arrived. Kalifa was first, followed by Jabra and Blueno. After them Kumadori entered. The last person to enter was Lucci, and when he reached the top of the steps the meeting had officially begun.

"Why did you call us?" Lucci asked.

"We have company," Kaku responded.

"Who?" Jabra asked. "Just cause you don't think you can handle them doesn't mean that you need to call a meeting. If little Kaku is scared of the big bad strangers you can come to me. When you call a meeting using four knocks it's supposed to be an emergency, not stranger-danger."

"Really?" Kaku asked. "You want to fight not only Strawhat but also the former Warlord Traflagar Law?"

Jabra's eyes widened. "You're kidding! What are doing here!"

"Do you think Strawhat came to get more revenge for kidnapping Nico Robin?" Fukuro asked in his exceedingly unhelpful way. Fukuro had allowed the children to continue their excersice and had wandered over after Kaku's "We have company" comment.

"That's not his style," Hattori commented from his position on Lucci's shoulder. The little dove had stayed with CP9 through all their hardships and all of the members considered him to be one of them. Except that one time Jabra decided Hattori would make a better dinner than comrade. It was the first time the other members of CP9 had ever seen Lucci protect something, or possibly, someone in this case, and it was the last time the thought of eating Hattori ever crossed Jabra's mind.

"Luffy. . ." Lucci muttered. Everyone froze and slowly turned to look at him. This was the deciding moment. Would they meet the two, or would they launch a possibly suicidal attack?

"We shall hear what they have to say," Lucci said. "But be prepared to fight. This is our island, and we will defend it should it be threatened. We are training the next generation of CP9 here and it is our duty to protect this land. So. . . one day the world will see Justice. We many not have the strength to bring Justice to the world, but we shall climb until we have attained it. Don't forget."

The others all nodded. It was their goal, to create Justice. After being expelled from the World Government they had been lost, without a purpose. Then it was decided. They would serve Justice. Not the World Government's Justice, or the Justice of Pirates. No, not even they Justice of the Revolutionaries. They would serve Justice, the ideal itself, with on one to filter or distort it.

That said, Lucci still tended to go way to far. It was kind of his thing.

* * *

Lucci watched as Kalifa led Luffy and Law up the stairs into the training room. Behind him the rest of CP9 was arrayed. The children that had been training there not even an hour previously were nowhere to be seen.

"So, what do you want?" Lucci asked. He wasn't the type to beat around the bush.

"We came for Blueno," Law responded. Lucci raised an eyebrow. 'Blueno? What could they want with Blueno? Well, that basically wipes away the possibility of this being a visit for revenge.'

"Blueno?" Lucci inquired.

"Shishishi, yeah," Luffy answered. "You know the Dead Zone? Well, the guys there have stange powers and one of them can hide in a different dimension. I thought the power sounded similar to Blueno's, so Law said we should come talk to him about it. It wasn't my idea."

"Exactly. And while we're here, we also wanted to offer you a position in our Alliance. You wouldn't have to hide out on this island anymore," Law offered.

"That wasn't my idea either," Luffy added.

"Join you?" Lucci asked. Then he smiled. He answered with zero hesitation. "No."

"About Blueno's ability though," he continued, "We would be willing to give you information on the condition that you share your information on the Dead Zone and it's inhabitants. And, of course, you swear not to reveal our location."

Law seemed to deflate. Luffy knew he shouldn't say it, but he couldn't help himself.

"I told you so." If it was possible Law seemed to get even more depressed.

"Well, okay," Luffy said. "You want to know about the people in the Dead Zone? The people there have this catra thing. . ."

"Chakra," Law corrected weakly.

"Yeah that," Luffy said brightly. "And their shinobi! That means that their ninja! They're actually kinda like you guys. The shinobi work for Villages and the biggest are called the Five Great Nations and. . ."

"I think I speak for all of us when I say that we don't really care about their politics. I personally would be more interested in an explanation of this chakra," Kaku said.

"Mmmm. . ." Luffy mused. "That's harder. The chakra works like a devil fruit, but the user keeps the ability to swim. Chakra can let the user breathe fire, create tsunami's and even teleport. Law's got a theory about it. He says that chakra is a watered down version of devil fruit abilities. Since it's weaker the shinboi can still swim, but he says that they would probably be affected by kairoseki."

"Why?" Kalifa asked.

"How did he explain it?" Luffy said, thinking to himself.

"Why doesn't he explain it himself?" Jabra asked.

"He won't because he'd depressed," Luffy responded.

"Depressed?" Fukuro asked.

"Yeah, depressed that I was right and he wasn't," Luffy said. "Anyhow, I think I got it. Kairoseki is a solid and the sea is a liquid right? Well, Law said something about there being more molecules in solids than liquids. Apparently kairoseki is as hard as diamond because the molecule things are packed so tightly together. Law said that there were way more 'sea molecules' in kiaroseki than in an equal amount of sea. He said that because of that kairoseki was stronger than the sea and that most devil fruit users didn't notice because the sea was already so strong to begin with."

"That actually makes sense," Jabra commented.

"He said that because of it's greater effect that it should weaken chakra users, but that he wasn't sure. Now that I've told you about chakra will you tell us about Blueno's ability?"

* * *

The members of CP9 stood on the beach and watched as Luffy and Law zoomed of in they boat.

"That was unexpected," Blueno commented.

"I'm more surprised that Law actually thought we would join them," Kaku said.

"Yeah, but that chakra stuff was interesting. I wonder how strong the people who use it are?" Jabra mused.

"Well, you'll get to see soon enough," Lucci responded. All of the other CP9 members turned to look at him.

"What do you mean?" Kumadori asked.

"We're headed to the Elemental Nations. And once we get there we shall fight on the side of Justice."

* * *

**(A/N: First of, thank you all! This fic has now reached 10,000 views and is a part of 5 communities and it wouldn't be possible without you. Don't worry. You'll still be getting the Thursday update, this Wednesday one was more of a thank you gift. Moving on, the story's starting to heat up. Tomorrow we're headed back to Konoha and Zoro's and Sanji are going to be meeting some old enemies.)**


	14. The All Blue

Reading Guide

**"Gaki"** Biju talking

**'Gaki'** Biju thinking

"Hello" Person talking

'Hello' Person thinking

_"Gaara stared up at the half full moon"_ Flashback

_Day 17_ Journal Entry

**"Negative Hollow"** Technique name

**- Elemental Countries -** Place

_**"TEAMWORK? WHAT'S THAT?"**_ Congress

Disclaimer: When the Republicans and the Democrats decide that they should focus on the betterment of this country and not the interests of their own personal parties, maybe I shall own One Piece and Naruto. Hey, if they can get along anything's possible.

* * *

**- Land of Fire: Konoha -**

Zoro was sitting behind a desk looking out at the huge line of people that stretched out in front of him. 'Shitty cook,' he mentally groaned. 'Three weeks. Three fucking weeks, that's how long we've been here. AND the shitty cook opened his restaurant a week after we got here. That makes two weeks.'

The next person in line stepped up and signed their name on the tablet on the table that Zoro was sitting at. 'How did this become the most popular eatery in the entire freaking town in two weeks?! And how did I get stuck monitoring the reservation line?!'

* * *

Sanji was sitting outside the window to the Hokage office and no one was the wiser. It had become one of his signature spots. When he wasn't training Hinata in his Black Leg style or Haki, he could often be found there. Or rather when he couldn't be found that was where he was. Opening his Journal he began a new entry. It was one of Law's ideas, supposed to make gathering intelligence easier or something.

_Day 17_

_The subject, so beautiful!, is sitting at her desk. ANBU are present, but none have noticed me. Shitty marimo can't believe it. I asked him if he really thought that I spent two years on Okama Island without developing supernatural stealth skills. That shut him up. Our restaurant is doing well and our cover is intact. The Hyuga have fielded any questions leveled at us, but there weren't too many. They seem to be the only ones able to detect that we don't have chakra. I guess it's their **Byakugan**. Apparently the aura we give off is close enough to chakra to fool the other clans._

_Speaking of the Hyuga, we're each training one of them in Haki. Hopefully the will be useful when the W.G. strikes. I get why we can't approach the Kages, but I don't like it. "Hi, we're pirates and we want to talk about how a gigantic and evil alliance of nations that you've never heard of is coming to kill you all!" Yeah, that wouldn't go down too well. To recap, recap, ohhhhhhh. . . I know I can't, but I want to approach her anyway. . ._

(The rest of the entry has been edited out for content reasons and general uselessness)

* * *

**(About five hours later: Dusk)**

Sakura stood outside the All Blue, the newest restaurant in Konoha. To say she was nervous was an understatement. The place was the fanciest in Konoha despite it's recent establishment. The prices were also insanely high, but somehow Nejii had managed to get them all a free meal. That was the other thing that scared her. All of them. That meant Neji, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, Tenten, herself and. . . Lee. The thought of an entire meal in a high class restaurant with Lee make her almost yearn for the good old days when Gaara almost killed her.

Building up her courage, she walked up to the bouncer and gave him the information about her groups reservation. Nodding, he allowed her to pass through the gold inlayed doors. Inside was a whirlwind of sounds and smells. Waiters whirled from one table to the next, delivering food that was supposedly to die for. Looking around she spotted Kiba waving to her from the other side of the room. She sauntered over as gracefully as she could and sat down at the last available seat.

"Glad you could make it," Neji said once she was seated.

"Yeah," Kiba exclaimed. "This is going to be great. The chef here is a foreigner and they say his cooking is like nothing else!"

Sakura smiled and nodded. It was strange, seeing Kiba dressed up. He was wearing a black suit and a red button down shirt that complimented the fang marks on his cheeks. Looking around, everyone else was just as dressed up. . . including Lee. And speeking of Lee. . .

"Sakura-san!" Yep, defiantly Lee. "Your dress makes your flames of youth burn so brightly that even my youthful eyes cannot grasp it's beauty."

Sakura really had to wonder if Gai had taught him how to flirt, and then she suddenly felt bad for Gai. There was a man with a hopeless love life, assuming he had one. 'Maybe he's in love with youth?' she pondered. 'That would actually explain a lot.'

* * *

Shikamaru nodded to Sakura as she sat down. He then turned to Neji, who was seated beside him, in order to continue their conversation.

"But really, how did you manage it?"

Neji just smiled. "Like I said, the chef is named Sanji and he's a friend of Zoro, the man we met three weeks ago in the Barbeque place."

"Yeah, but to let all of us eat here for free? That seems like a bit much. . ."

"Sanji's not just letting us eat here, he's also going to be serving us personally."

Neji spit out the water in his mouth. "You're kidding."

It was a widely known fact that Sanji was the only chef at the All Blue. No one was quite sure how he managed to cook fast enough to feed the customers, but the fact remained that he did. The other employees were all locals that had been lucky enough to be select for the now lucrative jobs. The employees were also some of the only people that knew what Sanji actually looked like. One of the consequences of being the only cook at a popular restaurant was that he was forced to speed every minute they were open in the kitchen. As for the mornings and noon when the shop was closed, well no one really knew what he did, but whatever it was it didn't involve making public appearances. The best description of him was that he was: "A man in a suit with blond hair and eyebrows weirder than you've ever seen." Shikamaru doubted the last part. Nobody could beat Lee and Gai in the eyebrow department.

"Hello, and welcome to my All Blue," a voice sang out from across the room. The kitchen doors opened and a spinning yellow blur emerged, heading right towards them. Stopping at the end of their table the blur slowly resolved itself into the shape of a man. After a brief moment the man stopped spinning completely and faced them. "My name is Sanji and I am the chef here. May I take your order?"

* * *

Zoro snorted as he watched the spectacle from his own personal booth tucked away in the back of the room. Over the clamor of conversing people he managed to hear something about "Though I came here to take your order you have taken my heart." It looked as if he was talking to the one called Tenten, but Zoro wasn't really sure.

The official reason that Sanji was serving them was that he would be gathering information on them. That was also why he was treating them, or so he said. 'He just wanted to meet Hinata's friends so he could get closer to her, damn ero-cook.'

Pulling out his own Journal he began to take notes. They had managed to get relatively complete profiles for Hinata, Neji, and even the Hokage. They had also gotten all the information the needed on the shinobi ranks, but they lacked information on their powers. For that they needed to profile more ninja, and that was what Sanji was attempting to do.

Things continues peacefully. The group was served, and in some cases flirted with. Zoro spent the entire time observing them, looking for the minute signs that would tell him how skilled they were. The peace was abruptly shattered when two figures dressed in black entered. They both wore black suits that were suited both to combat as well as fine dining. Zoro recognized them at once. Shooting across the room he held the Shusui to the neck of the one he deemed to be the greater threat.

"Kaku, what are you doing here?" he asked, his voice dangerously low.

"What? Why, Jabra and I are customers of course. I suggest you remove your sword. We're not here for a fight, and people are looking."

Zoro slowly removed his sword, and then sheathed it. "If we were anywhere else. . ."

"But of course," Kaku said. Brushing himself off, he and Jabra walked a table.

The rest of the night proceeded smoothly. The incident was soon forgotten and people's minds moved on. The group of young shinobi finished their dinners and left. Not long after that people began to trickle out until the restruant was empty save Kaku, Jabra and the other waiters. Exicting the kitchen Sanji informed the waiters that they were done for the night, and less then ten minutes later the four men had the place to themselves.

"Hahaha, you jumped the gun!" Jabra laughed.

"How did you even get in here?" Sanji demanded. "And why are you here in Konoha? No, better yet, why are you in the Elemental Nations?"

"How did we get in here?" Kaku asked. "Why, we made a reservation of course."

"What?" Sanji exploded. "Zoro would have seen you! He was at the reservation desk!"

"Indeed he was," Jabra chortled. "He seemed to really be enjoying it. I've never seen a sleeping person look so relaxed!"

Sanji turned on Zoro. "We'll talk later." If the situation was even slightly less serious, the two would have fought then and there, but the situation was that serious.

"Don't worry, we're not here to cause trouble," Jabra assured them, still laughing. "We were in the area and we heard this place had good grub so we decided to drop in, that's all."

"Yes, it is exactly like Jabra said," Kaku confirmed. "Now if you'll excuse us, we have to be going."

The two former assassins stood up and exited without a backwards glance.

Not bothering to pursue them Sanji turned to his less than ideal partner. "Zoro. . ."

* * *

**- Land of Wind: Suna -**

Outside of Suna two figures could be seen.

"It's been a while," one man commented. "The last time I was here I killed the Third Kazekage. I can't believe that it's been so long. The fourth came and went and now this Village is controlled by the Fifth. How time flies."

"Yeah, un," his partner agreed. "The Fifth. Ibiki, right?"

"Yes. Now lets get moving. You know that I don't like waiting. The less time it takes to find this 'crocodile' the better."

* * *

**IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ**

**(A/N: This is in response to Peter Kim's comment which I felt was worth answering. Personally, I don't see either Rebecca or Violet joining the Strawhats, and even if one of them does, they will not be included in this fic. As for Momonosuke and his father neither will play a role in the plot of this story. As for Cavendish, well I hadn't intended to include him, but I just might now that you mention it.)**


	15. Prelude to the Nightmare

Reading Guide

**"Gaki"** Biju talking

**'Gaki'** Biju thinking

"Hello" Person talking

'Hello' Person thinking

_"Gaara stared up at the half full moon"_ Flashback

**"Negative Hollow"** Technique name

**- Elemental Countries -** Place

_**"BOOBS!"**_ Jiraiya (Gaara of the Funk Collection)

Disclaimer: If I owned One Piece the plot wouldn't be so good. Naruto would probably stay about the same thought.

* * *

**- Land of Wind: Suna -**

Gaara's eyes shot open. He was sitting atop one of Suna's largest and most central buildings practicing his Observation Haki when he felt them. Two blazing presences that he was not familiar with. Each had a stronger aura than Ibiki, the Kazekage, so it was safe to assume that they were both S-Class Ninja or some of Crocodile's friend.

Jumping down from his perch he made his way through the crowd towards Crocodile's mansion. Or more accurately, he made a strait line and the crowd made its way around him. It didn't take him long to get there, Crocodile's mansion was pretty central as well.

The mansion was huge, standing over five stories. Crocodile had bought it with the money his casino made. Alabasta Royale, the largest casino in Suna. Crocodile had built the place with the money he had brought with him. Apparently he had also been given some, but he had brought more than enough of his own. Ignoring the elaborate entrance, Gaara used his sand to ascend directly to the fourth floor. Once there he opened one of the windows and let himself in. Taking a brief look around, Gaara oriented himself before continuing on.

Less than a minute later he stood before an ornate set of oak doors that lead into the fourth floors living room which more closely resembled a grand hall. Pushing the doors open he entered. Crocodile looked over at him from the plush leather seat he was sitting in.

"Gaara?" he asked. "What is it?"

"Activate your Observation Haki," Gaara replied. Crocodile frowned slightly but did so. He frown deepened but then a look of understanding crossed his face.

"Ahhh, so the ones Nico Robin told me about have arrived. They are probably hesitant to enter the city, so let us go greet them on the neutral ground of the desert."

* * *

**- Land of Wind: Outside Suna -**

"Really, what are we even doing, un?" Deidara complained. "You don't honestly believe what that Sunday woman was talking about, do you?"

"Not really," Sasori replied, "But I am not so quick to dismiss it either. What if she was telling the truth?"

"Kuhahaha, good reasoning." Both Deidara and Sasori whirled around only to find barren desert. Then the sand behind them began to bulge upward and two figures emerged. The first was a tall man with a long scar across his face and an impeccable suit. The second figure was much younger with flaming red hair. He wore a gigantic gourd on some sort of grey holder that went over the long dull red robe he wore.

"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Crocodile. Beside me is Subaku no Gaara," the older man spoke. Sasori's eyebrows rose. 'The crocodile statement was literal?'

"Are you the ones Sunday sent us to see, un?" Deidara asked.

"Sunday? Ahhh, you mean Nico Robin. Yes, we are," Crocodile replied.

"Nico Robin?" Sasori commented. "Why did you give your partners identity away?"

"It doesn't matter anymore, it didn't even really matter to begin with. It's simply one of her quirks. Using a codename didn't really achieve anything," Crocodile answered.

Deidara blinked. "Wait, Subaku, un?" He took a second look at the red haired teen. "Subaku as in the son of the Fourth Kazekage?"

Gaara nodded but otherwise remained silent.

Deidara whistled. "I've heard of you." He glanced over at Crocodile. "But anyways, un, what information do you have for us on the war?"

Crocodile smiled. "I can give you the information, but you wouldn't believe me. You can see for yourselves. Go to the patch of sea located exactly between Kiri and the mainland of the Land of Fire and you will find your answers. The Kanen Ni and Moria will explain everything."

Deidara scowled. "You've got to be kidding, un. What is this, a treasure hunt? If you want us to go so far out of our way you better give us some good information."

"I thought you would say that. Your name is Deidara, correct?"

"Yeah, un. What about it."

"You are a member of the Jabaku clan and you are able to mold explosive clay using the special mouths on your hands, right?"

Deidara's scowl deepened. "Yeah, un. . ."

"Well, you want to know why it's worth your time to go that far out of your way? Create three of your bombs and throw one at me."

"Bombs?!" Deidara fumed. "They are art! And I don't throw them, the fly."

"Maturity. . ." Sasori chided. "Just do it."

Muttering to himself about how uncultured some people were, Deidara dug some clay out of his pouch and his hand-mouths began chewing on it. After a moment three birds popped out, one of which stirred. The little clay bird shook itself before launching towards Crocodile. The Akatsuki pair expected him to do something, anything, but he didn't The bird continued its flight until it hit him and exploded.

Both Sasori's and Deidara's eyes widened as the man exploded into sand. 'A sand clone?' Sasori theorized. The pair was even more shocked when the sand reformed into Crocodile in the same place he had been standing before.

"That was pretty powerful, try a weaker one."

Deidara's smallest bird took flight and aimed towards Crocodile. This time Diedara manually detonated it with a "Katsu!" before it hit him. When the smoke cleared half of Crocodile remained, but the other half was quickly reforming.

"This is my power, I am a Logia," Crocodile said. "The others have powers as well, some more dangerous than mine and others less so. It's worth going out of your way to gain a greater understanding of our powers, don't you agree?"

It took some convincing but Crocodile managed to get them to admit that he wasn't pulling some cheap trick and that his power was the real deal. The Akatsuki pair had left soon after, heading towards the now relocated Thriller Bark.

"Where did you send them and who are the Kanzen Ni?" Gaara asked.

"Mmmm? I sent them to Thriller Bark," Crocodile replied. "Moria sailed it right into the area I specified. As for the Kanzen Ni, do you remember Moria's ability?"

"Yes, he has the Kage Kage no mi," Gaara responded.

"Exactly. With it's power Moria can create zombies which are then ranked and divided. In order from weakest to strongest there are regular zombies, surprise zombies, wild zombies, general zombies, nightmare zombies and then the four special zombies. Those four special zombies are known as the Kanzen Ni and they are all dangerous enough to have their own bounties."

"How dangerous are they?"

"Dangerous enough. They each go by a codename. There is Reyes, leader of the regular zombies; Red, the leader of the General Zombies; Rose, the leader of the nightmare zombies and finally Regi, who just does his own thing. Even the weakest of them, Red, has a bounty of 320,000,000 million beri. And. . ." Crocodile added, "They each posses free will and the ability to act on their own giving them a major advantage over other zombies."

* * *

**- Cove: Thriller Bark -**

Reyes walked down one of the halls in the gigantic Mast Mansion. Reaching Moria's personal room he threw open the doors and entered. "Moria!" he called. "We got a call from Crocodile. We'll be having visitiors from the Akatsuki. Just though you'd like to know!"

Not even bothering to look to see if Moria had hear him he slammed the doors and began walking down the hall back the way he had come. 'Visitors, ah, it will be so fun! My zombies and I will give them such a scare! The Night Attack is so much better when I'm at the wheel. Now all that's left to do is wait. Although,' Reyes mused, 'I suppose I should let the others in on this too. Rose probably wouldn't care, Red wouldn't either. Regi might. Might as well tell him then.'

With that Reyes stopped thinking entirely and began to skip down the hall dancing to a tune only he could hear.

* * *

**(A/N: Yes, I know it's Sabaku but for in this story I'm calling him Subaku. Moving on, on Halloween you'll be getting a special featuring Deidara, Sasori, Reyes and Regi. Speaking of the special zombies, can you guess who I'm modeling them after. If you do I'll be impressed. Hint: They are all from the same Anime and the have the same occupation. Anyone who can correctly guess even one of them will have. . . um. . . something. I'll get back to you on it.)**


	16. Shuriaya and the Kanzen Ni

Reading Guide

**"Gaki"** Biju talking

**'Gaki'** Biju thinking

"Hello" Person talking

'Hello' Person thinking

_"Gaara stared up at the half full moon"_ Flashback

**"Negative Hollow"** Technique name

**- Elemental Countries -** Place

_**"ANOTHER LATIN UNIT TEST TOMMOROW! NOOOOOOOOO"**_ Me

Disclaimer: If I get a 100% on tomorrows Latin Unit test then I will own Naruto and One Piece. Here's a hint: I'm not going to get 100%.

* * *

**- Alubarna: Royal Palace -**

Shuriaya Bascùd was enjoying himself immensely. After dealing with Wallen he had gone to the city's outskirts and retrieved his sister. He had left her there for her own safety, but with Wallen out of the picture it was perfectly safe to be out and about.

Shuriaya and Adelle were currently in the grand dining room of the Alubarna Place dining with King Cobra and Vivi. The food was excellent and Shuriaya had the appetite to take advantage of it.

"So, how is Luffy doing?" Cobra asked.

"Mmmm? Luffy? Just fine," Shuriaya replied. "You know he's going to be interfering with the World Government's plan to take over the Elemental Nations, right?"

"Yes," Cobra replied. "You're really going to do it?"

"Yeah, we are."

"Then what are you doing here?" Vivi asked. He continued to chew on his food for a moment before anwering.

"Well, you were in trouble and I was sent to help. Not only that, this was the perfect opportunity to try out these bad boys," he said, pointing to the black fingerless gloves he wore.

"What are those?" Pell asked.

"The newest invention courtesy of Ussop, Franky, and this time Moria too. If I touch someone for more than three seconds while wearing these gloves they get knocked out. Awesome, right? But that's not all they do."

"What else do they do then?" Pell questioned.

"They steal the shadow of the person who was knocked out," Shuriaya replied. "You've heard of Nightmare Mode, haven't you?"

"I thought they were just rumors. . ." Cobra said.

"Nope, Nightmare Mode is quite real. Luffy and Law and Moria can all use it. Along with them there are some Sub-Captains that can use it and an elite division of zombies called the Nightmare Zombies that are all capable of using it as well. And of course, the Kanzen Ni can all use it as well."

"I see. How does it work?" Chaka asked.

"Well," Adelle said, "The people who can use Nightmare Mode carry shadows around with them and when they need to fight they use the strength of the shadows."

"It's that simple?" Igaram asked doubtfully.

"That's the basic idea," Shuriaya replied. "It's actually a lot more complicated than that. You can't simply store shadows."

"But didn't you just store shadows in those gloves?" Cobra asked.

"Yes," Shuriaya agreed, "But I couldn't do anything with them. I'm going to have to take the gloves to Moria to have the shadows extracted. That means storing shadows in objects is out and storing them in your own body doesn't work, they'd just fly out."

"Then were do you store them?" Vivi asked.

"Why in your shadow of course!" Adelle replied. "If you put shadows in your body they'll fly away but if you put shadows in your shadow they'll be held there by your shadow."

"Once again, that's the basic idea," Shuriaya said. "Before you actually store other shadows in your shadow you have to defeat your shadow. Moria has a technique called **Hanran** that manifests the shadow of the person it's used on. The victim is then attacked by their own shadow. **Hanran** basically useless in battle because it requires a full minute of skin to skin contact with the victim, but its perfect for Nightmare Mode training."

"So how powerful is Nightmare Mode?" Pell asked.

"It depends on the number of shadows you've defeated. If you want to put shadows in your shadow you have to fight and defeat the shadow first. Every shadow in a Nightmare Mode user's shadow is a shadow that was defeated by that user. The more shadows in your shadow the stronger your Nightmare Mode is," Adell responded.

"Spot on this time," Shuriaya commented.

"Pretty powerful then. Who are the Kanzen Ni you mentioned?" Igaram asked.

"They are the four Special Rank Zombies," Shuriaya replied. He reached into his yellow coat and removed four wanted posters. "They're so dangerous they even have their own bounties."

The first wanted poster showed a red haired man dressed in a blue robe with a red stripe running down the front and two on the sides. The man also wore a flowing black cloak lined with red. All in all he looked entirely too human to be a zombie.

"The Grand Dragon, Red, 320,000,000 beri bounty. He's the commander of the General Zombies," Shuriaya narrated.

"But he looks just like a human!" Pell exclaimed.

"They all do," Shuriaya replied. "Let me show you the rest."

"The Black Flower, Rose, 350,000,000 beri bounty. The only female of the group, she commands the Nightmare Zombies and has the notable ability of shape shifting."

The woman on the picture was actually quite beautiful, despite being a zombie. She wore all black and had flowing blonde hair that reached past her waist. She also had two black decorations hanging over each of her ears.

"Next up is the Sea Conductor, Reyes, 400,000,000 beri bounty, He commands the regular zombies but that doesn't mean he's any less dangerous. He was animated with the soul of a fishman serving under Kaido and he posseses the ability to control the sea."

The man on the poster had notably greenish hair. Not like Zoro's, the man's hair was a much lighter sea green. He wore a coat of the same color that opened at the top to reveal his neck.

"Last is the Iron Titan, Regi, 450,000,000 beri bounty. Most definitely the most dangerous of the group and the only one not having command over any specific underlings. He has no set job, but most of the time he wanders around the New World gathering information. He couldn't make it to our little meeting about the Elemental Nations, but once he made it back to Thriller Bark and was briefed he chose to head off to aid in gathering information."

The man shown on the poster didn't look particularly dangerous. He had gray hair and blue eyes. The suit he wore was lack with two zigzag purple stripes on each side.

"He should be there by now, actually. . ."

* * *

**- Land of Water: Middle of Nowhere -**

Regi was walking along a dirt road when he felt a familiar presence. "Come out, Reyes," he sighed after the presence had followed him for a few miles.

"Awww, how did you know it was me?" Regi whined as he jumped down from the tree he had been crouching in.

"Haki," Regi replied.

"Whatever," Reyes said, he previously sullen mood now replaced with a bubbly happiness. "You know what? Thriller Bark is getting visitors! They're members of a group called Akatsuki and are super strong. Scaring them with the Night Attack will be a real challenge, and when I realized that I stopped looking for you and got Rose onboard. I just decided to drop in to see if you wanted to participate."

"Rose, I suppose you want her for her **Seizo Gyo**?"

"Yep! I also want you because you're just scary sometimes!"

Regi sweatdropped. 'Was that a compliment or an insult. Probably neither, just Reyes being Reyes.'

"Well, why are these Akatsuki guys going to Thriller Bark anyways?"

"We're trying to show them how powerful we are. Luffy wants to try to recruit them to our side."

"Really now? That's interesting." Regi glanced down at his wrist. He didn't have a watch. 'Damn, still can't get rid of that habit. Maybe I should just start wearing a watch so I don't look insane.'

"Yeah, I'll go," Regi replied.

"Yay!" Reyes celebrates. "It's going to be a real party! I'm even going to break out the DDRX-1000! It'll be a blast!"

'The DDRX-1000? What's that again? It's the. . . the. . . oh dear god no."

* * *

**- Konoha: Hokage Building -**

"Interesting. . ." Tsunade said. 'So Zoro and Sanji don't have chakra, but some other power instead. And they're powerful at that.'

"It's fortunate we had your Sharingan, Kakashi, or we wouldn't have gotten this information. They Hyuga would know, but they seem to be in on whatever Zoro and Sanji are doing. It makes me uneasy, but there isn't too much we can do about it. The Hyuga have made their stance clear and until either Zoro or Sanji step out of line there's noting for us to do but go along with it."

"I agree," Kakashi said. "Speaking of which, have you heard about the mist that sprung up in the sea between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water?"

"Yes, but I have no solid information on it," Tsunade replied.

"Well, this isn't exactly solid information. Sailors that went through the mist have reported seeing ghosts and entire crews have experienced memory loss. All of the crews that experienced the memory loss had tried to sail straight through the mist, the ones that kept to the outer edge of the mist seem to be the least effected. There's something in there."

"Perhaps. Strange mist at sea, people without chakra, there are simply too may unknowns. Kakashi, I'm now assigning you to a new mission. Gather as much information on the mist as possible and keep your ears open for any information on people without chakra. Dismissed."

"Hai!" Kakashi said before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

"I just don't know, Shizune," Tsunade commented. "I have no idea what's going on, but I have a bad feeling about all of this."

* * *

**Notice:**

**As mentioned in a previous A/N whoever can guess who the Kanzen Ni are based on will receive a prize of some sort. Maybe I'll answer a question about the future of the story. Anyways, the hint was that they are all from the same anime and that the all have the same occupation.**

**(A/N: I'll keep it short because of the Notice above. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and don't forget to review!)**


	17. Halloween Special Part One

Reading Guide

**"Gaki"** Biju talking

**'Gaki'** Biju thinking

"Hello" Person talking

'Hello' Person thinking

_"Gaara stared up at the half full moon"_ Flashback

**"Negative Hollow"** Technique name

**- Elemental Countries -** Place

_**"I GOT A B+ ON THE LATIN TEST!"**_ Me

Disclaimer: I didn't get 100% on the Latin Unit test. According to the last disclaimer, I don't own One Piece or Naruto.

* * *

**- Sea: Near Thriller Bark -**

"This mist isn't natural, un," Deidara commented. As he spoke a ghost drifted past him.

"There are ghosts floating around us and you comment of the mist?" Sasori asked.

"Well, yeah, un. The ghosts aren't really scary, although their laughter is really creepy."

"Their laugher? You focus on the strangest things. Ignore it, it's probably some foreign form of genjutsu."

As Sasori finished his comment their boat the mist began to recede until the two found themselves staring at the largest ship they had ever seen. Looking up the moon and stars were visible even thought it couldn't be later than three in the afternoon. The ship itself was the definition of intimidating. It's mast disappeared into the black sky and a black sail with the words "We Are" printed in glowing red ink was stretched across the air above the ship. Dotting the sky around the largest sail were hundreds of flags, some tattered and worn, others pristine and almost radiating energy.

Suddenly the boards of their boat turned black and began to bubble. Sasori readied a puppet and Deidara's hands began to work their magic on his clay as a tall figure rose from the dark mass on the floor. The figure was dressed in a black robe that obscured all of it's features, but if Sasori didn't know better he would swear that their were purple horns sticking out of the shadows of the hood. Perhaps there were, he had seen stranger.

"Kishishishi, welcome," the figure intoned grandly, "to my ship. My name is Gekko Moria, Lord of the Depths. Before you continue, I would to explain a few things."

"Like what, un?" Deidara asked.

"Like what you shall find on the island," Moria replied. "We wish for you to join us, but you must understand our strength. On the island you will be attacked. You will have seven hours in which you will feel our power and be able to observe our abilities. If at anytime you cannot continue simply utter the phrase 'I surrender to death,' and those attacking you will cease. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Sasori replied. "You want to test our abilities and you want to demonstrate your own in the hope that we'll join you."

"Exactly," Moria said. "Well then, have fun." The ground at Moria's feet once again began to bubble and he slowly sunk into the floor of the ship. Once he was gone that dark patch on the boards dissolved and Sasori and Deidara were left alone.

* * *

**- Thriller Bark: Shore -**

After sailing through a huge mouth shaped gate the two criminals landed on the gigantic ship. Turning to Sasori, Deidara broke the silence.

"So what's the plan, un?"

"We'll just walk straight up to that castle. Whoever these people are, they're obviously underestimating us." When Deidara didn't respond Sasori glanced over at him and noticed that he had a focused expression on his face. 'He sees something, but what? I don't sense anything. Another ghost? No, he wouldn't have that expression on his face. In that case maybe. . .'

At that point Sasori's instinct kicked in and he dived to his right just barely avoiding a ray of neon blue light. The light continued past him and hit their little boat, blowing it into a million pieces.

"What the hell, un!"

* * *

**(30 Minutes Earlier)**

Reyes danced up the stairs of the Armory. The Armory was the building that housed all of the We Are Alliances weapons, and it was a terrifying place at the best of times. Dancing down the hall Reyes passed glowing tubes filled with shadows that Moria had taken. Whenever there was an excess of shadows Moria would store them in the Armory and then go and extract them as needed. Since they didn't need to be ready at a moment's notice it was the perfect solution.

Whirling past the tubes Reyes came to the largest tube of all which was more than teen feet in diameter and stretched up to the ceiling.

"Good afternoon!" Reyes exclaimed to the occupant of the tube. He was greeted by a wave of Conquerors Haki. "Well, somebody's lively today! Good to see you so alive, but I guess your dead, huh? Isn't it wonderful that we use shadows of people who have died now? If we couldn't we wouldn't have you!" Another, this time larger, wave of Conquerors Haki washed over him. "Humph, well whatever. Grouchy."

Shedding his sullen mood in a moment, Reyes once again resumed dancing down the hall. He passed weapons of all sorts, shapes and sizes. After a few minutes he reached the end of the hall. Slowing down he walked out into the large circular room. At the far end of the room rested a gigantic figure and on each side of the figure there were three podiums. On top of each podium was a Devil Fruit, but the Devil Fruits were of no interest to Reyes.

"DDRX-1000!" he called. "We have visitors. Why don't you go greet them?" At the far end of the room one of the gigantic figure's eyes began to glow.

* * *

Recovering, Sasori jumped to his feet and peered into the darkness. Looking closely a hulking shape resolved itself from the surrounding shadows. Then a glowing red light appeared where the figure's eye probably was.

"What is it?" Deidara asked.

"I don't know," Sasori replied. "But that attack was dangerous. Be careful, it's probably going to attack."

The three stood in silence, a standoff to see who would move first. The shadow quickly lost patience and lunged forward, and at the same moment both Sasori and Deidara launched themselves to the side. The second the figure left the shadows several things became apparent. The first was that the figure was even larger than they had thought, easily standing at over twenty feet tall. The second thing that became apparent was that the figure was male. The third thing. . . the third thing. . .

Landing where the two of them had been only seconds previously, the behemoth straitened. It's silver and black afro shone in the moonlight. It wore a shirt made of hundreds of different strips of cloth sowed loosely together so that they flowed and changed positions whenever the figure moved. On the figure's half silver and half black afro rested a hat crafted out of tinfoil.

"Targets in sight. Activation Sequence seventy-one dash thirty-three," the figure droned in a monotone. "Beginning the Sequence in three. . . two. . . one. . ."

Suddenly the was filled with blaring noise. After a moment the lyrics began.

_" I know a girl who's tough but sweet_  
_ She's so fine, she can't be beat me_  
_ She's got everything that I desire_  
_ Sets the summer sun on fire_  
_I want Candy"_

As the song reached the refrain the figure blurred into motion. Swing a hand that had somehow been replaced by a blade it attacked Deidara. Moving at extreme speeds with exactly ten motions for each beat of the song, it started to drive Deidara back. Left, right, down, left, left, down. None of the swing came close to hitting Deidara but he was forced back. Sasori was about to intervene when another figure streaked out of the shadows and grabbed Deidara. This one was much smaller and more normal looking. Sasori had just enough time to see blonde hair and a black dress before the smaller figure jumped into the air and the larger one launched her off into the distance. Along with Deidara.

"Not bad," Sasori commented. "Distracting Deidara and then separating us. But," and now he started to smirk. "You still seem to be underestimating us. Let me show you what it means to be a member of the Akatsuki."

Jumping forward Sasori shot towards the giant. The giant readjusted it's stance and raised it's right hand. 'It's probably going to use that laser attack from before. In that case. . .'

Sasori created several chakra string and hurled them at the giants arm. The giant took no heed of the strings as it continued to charge the blue light in it's hand. The beat of the song from the giant quickened until it reached a fevered pitch. 'NOW!' Sasori thought as he pulled the chakra strings down. The laser that the giant had been charging went of and impacted the ground directly below it with such force that the giant was actually propelled into the air.

Jumping up, the spinning blade on Sasori's left arm popped out and began it's deadly rotation. The giant was in the air and blinded, completely helpless. Bring down the whirling blade Sasori aimed for the man's neck. The blade connected, but it didn't even penetrate the man's skin. 'Damn. . .' Sasori thought. His eyes swiveled downward and he saw that the giant's other hand was charging another laser. Aimed directly at him.

Pushing off the giant Sasori raised his left hand. The chakra stings that were attached to the giant's right arm detached and drifted downward. . . onto the giant's left arm. With a swing of his hand the giant was now aiming at itself. It was too late for it to change it's aim. The laser fired point blank at the giant's chest and it went flying backward into the forest.

In the distance there was an explosion. "Not bad, not bad at all," a voice behind Sasori commended. Whirling around Sasori came face to face with a young man in a black suit that had two zigzag purple striped going down it.

"My name is Regi. What you just defeated was the modified Pacifista, DRRX-1000. You'll find that I'm a little stronger that it was. So, let's see just how good you are."

* * *

Deidara lost any sense of balance the second he went airborne. he knew what happened, sure, but he had no idea which direction was up, or down for that matter. They were slowing down and decending when Deidara realized that he was alone. The person who had grabbed him was nowhere to be seen. 'What? How, un?' Suddenly realizing that prioritizing was a good thing, Deidara swiveled his body and braced for landing. The second he hit the ground he was already rolling. A moment later he was on his feet once again.

'Now, what happened? I was grabbed by that shadow and then that giant freak launched us over here by hitting the shadow. Strange, un. Wouldn't that cause damage? Well, whatever. I'm now alone and there is likely a dangerous opponent in my vicinity.'

"This should be fun, un!"

"What should be fun?" a voice behind him asked. He knew that voice. He knew that voice. Whirling around his suspicions were confirmed.

"Pein!"

* * *

**NOTICE:**

**1.) The contest for guessing the identities of the Kanzen Ni will be continuing. Please, I have the first chapter of a story centered around them waiting in the wings and I'll release it if someone gets their identities right or if enough people guess. Please guess.**

**2.) Yes! This story is now over 30k words! Because of this I am now looking for a cover. I could draw one. Or I could go to a daycare and hire one of the kids to make a better one. Yeah, I can't draw. If anyone would be willing to draw a cover it would be greatly appreciated. (If you can draw but have no ideas, PM me, I have several)**

**3.) You'll be getting another update today at 7:00 PM**

**That is all**


	18. Halloween Special Part Two

Reading Guide

**"Gaki"** Biju talking

**'Gaki'** Biju thinking

"Hello" Person talking

'Hello' Person thinking

_"Gaara stared up at the half full moon"_ Flashback

**"Negative Hollow"** Technique name

**- Elemental Countries -** Place

_**"I HAVE CANDY!"**_ That guy in the white van

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. I can't write that well. I don't own Naruto. You know what I'm going to say so I won't even say it.

* * *

**- Thriller Bark: Clearing Near the Shore -**

Sasori frowned. "Regi? What type of name is that?"

The gray haired man developed a tick mark on his head. "What? Is there something wrong with my name?"

"Yes."

"You little!" Regi lunged forward.

'Hn, so easy to provoke,' Sasori thought as he prepared himself to attack. Wiping his left arm forward he launched his still whirling saw blade towards Regi, who for his part just grinned.

'What?!' Sasori thought, 'Why is he smiling?' Every second the blade was getting closer to him, it would bisect him if it continued on it's current course and yet Regi smiled.

"Got you," he said. All of his anger disappeared in and instant as he reached and grasped the blade, stopping it mid-rotation. Using his newly acquired handhold he flipped himself over and brought his foot down of Sasori's shoulder with bone crushing force. If Sasori had any bones they surely would have been shattered, but as it was his body was simply sent flying in all directions.

'He's pretty good, faking anger and getting me to lower my guard in turn,' Sasori mused. 'But he appears to use physical attacks and as such I hold the advantage.'

"What?" Regi exclaimed as he looked around.

"I can't be killed, or even harmed, like that," Sasori explained as he used his chakra threads to reconstruct his body about five feet from Regi.

"I see," Regi responded. "Well, this should be fun."

In the distance a gigantic explosion of black light darkened the sky. 'What the hell?' Sasori wondered. 'Damn, I got distracted. Where's Regi, he's not where he was before.'

"Where am I? I'm right behind you." Then Sasori felt the vice like grip on his arm.

* * *

**- Thriller Bark: Forest -**

"Pein!" Deidara exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

They stood for several minutes in silence, then ignoring his question entirely, Pein walked towards him. His walk was slow and stately. He proceeded until he had passed Deidara right by as if he didn't even exist. Turning to keep Pein in sight, Deidara was just in time to receive a high powered punch to the face which sent him flying backwards. 'What the hell is up with Pein, un?'

It was then that Deidara noticed the strange aura that Pein had about him. 'Pein feels. . . off. Not like he usually does. Wait, un! That Pein isn't real! He's a fake!'

Sitting up Deidara was just in time to witness the person who he had thought to be Pein morph into a woman with flowing blonde hair.

"Hello," she introduced herself. "My name is Rose and I shall be your opponent."

"My opponent, un? Well let's see how good you are. . . **Katsu**!"

The second he had landed Deidara had prepared for the absolute worst case scenario, that being a large scale ambush. Because of this he had used the clay that he had been preparing to make centipedes which he dropped. They then burrowed into the ground and made the forest around them a literal minefield. One which Rose now stood in the center of.

The explosion was beautiful, but before it could really develop it was completely overpowered. An orb of black light rocketed into the sky and detonated with all of the explosive force that had been created by his centipedes. As the smoke cleared Deidara saw a form falling from the sky. The blood red hair was unmistakable. It was Sasori.

"Sasori-dana!" he called as he launched himself towards his partner. He had nearly reached the falling form of Sasori when he began to feel the ominous feeling that Pein had emitted. 'It's not really Sasori, it's Rose!' he realized. Acting with lightning speed he raised his hands. "**Katsu**!" he yelled. The clay in his hands exploded outward and then exploded literally, sending his rocketing backwards.

Skidding backwards Deidara steadied himself. 'This Rose likes to use trickery and illusions. Kinda like Itachi, un. I somehow doubt my eye would be useful in this situation, thought. I've never seen a genjutsu like the one she's using.'

* * *

"Let go," Sasori ordered. 'Damn it! I can't believe I got distracted like that!'

"And why should I? Regi replied. "I have you just where I want you."

'What's that supposed to mean?' Sasori wondered. 'For that matter, why is he waiting? He should have attacked by now. Every second this continues gives me a greater change to escape. He's planning something.'

"Mmmm," Regi mumbled to himself. "Now seems about right." Before he knew what was happening, Sasori found himself flyignbetween the trees of the forest at high speeds. 'He threw me!' Sasori thought.

Looking to his left he saw that he was quickly approaching Deidara. 'Well, he seems to be doing fine.' A moment later Deidara spotted him.

"Really, un?" he laughed. "Do you think I'm going to fall for the same trick twice?" Throwing his hands forward he shot dozens of exploding birds towards Sasori. In moments he was surrounded by them. "**Katsu**!"

The force of the explosion sent Sasori rocketing back the way he had come. His entire body was burned, but because he was a puppet he could still move.

"Are you starting to understand?" a voice beside him asked. Looking over he saw Regi keeping pace with his flying form. With only a slight twitch of his fingers Sasori created the strongest chakra thread he could and hurled it ahead of himself. The thread attached to two trees creating an insanely strong tripwire that was all but invisible. Regi certainty didn't see it.

Regi powered right into the tripwire. Although the tripwire held, the same could not be said for the trees that it was attacked to, both of which were immediately ripped out of the ground. But it was enough. Regi stumbled and Sasori once again brought around the arm with the rotating sawblade. With all of his might he swung and he connected. All of the force of the explosion which had sent him flying was now put onto the saw blade that was against Regi's back. The added force that the explosion gave him allowed Sasori to make the attack several dozen times stronger than it ever could have been otherwise.

The force combined with the fact that Regi had yet to activate his Armament Haki allowed the blade to penetrate the skin. It went in deep, coming close to bisecting him completely. It would have if the force of the explosion which had given Sasori the power to do that much damage hadn't forced him slightly upward. Flying back from Regi Sasori spun in the air and landed gracefully on the forest floor, his burnt body only slightly hindering his movement.

"Not bad," Regi said again, this time gasping for breath. He was clutching the devastating wound that Sasori had inflicted on his shoulder, but something was wrong. 'There's no blood,' Sasori realized. 'And he doesn't even seem particularly upset about it.' Settling into a defensive stance, Sasori waited for Regi to make his next move. To move himself would most likely be walking right into a trap. He didn't have to wait long for Regi to play his next card.

"**Nightmare** **Mode**."

* * *

**(Six Hours Later)**

Deidara collapsed. He couldn't take it anymore. Rose he could handle, but it went downhill when the others joined in. At first they were simply shadows watching their fight, but then they started joining in. The would shoot forward and land a weak attack and then retreat into the shadows. He had almost incinerated one and speared two others with kunai, but even those had been able to retreat. They hadn't come back, but it didn't help much.

He was just about to surrender when the sound of a tolling bell rolled across the island. It was over.

"Find your partner and come to the castle," a voice said. Looking up Deidara identified the speaker as Rose. "Should you wish it, we shall treat your injuries. We have much to talk about." And with that she was gone.

* * *

Sasori and Regi stood across from each other, both panting and heavily wounded. Sasori's right arm was broken beyond repair and Regi's neck definitely shouldn't have been at the angle it currently was. Their death match was interrupted by the tolling of the bell. Turinig towards the castle. Regi took to the trees and set off. 'He's not bad. . ' Regi thought to himself as he retreated. 'I didn't use Armament Haki even once but I have the feeling that even if I did I still might have lost. That one is strong. It will be interesting if they join us. I wonder what the other members of the Akatsuki are like?' He laughed slightly to himself. 'Perhaps they're comparable to the Strawhats. Even the normal ones can be dangerous, and the strong ones are simply terrifying. Yes, it would seem we underestimated them, but they also underestimated us. I could take advantage of that in the future.'

* * *

**- Thriller Bark: Mast Mansion -**

"Kishishishi," Moria laughed. "Law and Luffy are out talking to Marco, huh?" he asked the zombie in front of him.

"Yes, master-sama."

"Well then, I should prepare to meet our guests. I'm eager to meet the one who dueled Regi to a standstill. He would make an excellent subordinate," Moria said, proving once again that his old habits were still present. The zombie was about to leave when another one rushed into the room.

"Master-sama!" the second zombie called.

"What?" Moria snapped.

"Zoro and Sanji just called. They found a poneglyph!"

* * *

**(A/N: Dun dun dun. . . Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter and the double update today. This chapter introduces the first legit fight scene in the entire story in the battle between Regi and Sasori. It's also one of the first true fight scenes I have ever written as an author. Any thoughts on it or criticisms of it would be welcomed. I have also noticed that I have some attack names in in English and others in pseudo-Japaneese. My question is, does anyone care? Still looking for a cover. Have a Happy Halloween and don't forget to review!)**

**P.S: I'm aware that Sasori wouldn't be able to feel Regi grasping his arm. It will be explained later.**


	19. A Fragmant of Truth

By this point I believe that you all understand my writing style and that no, I do not in fact own Naruto or One Piece. For that reason future chapters will not have the reading guide or disclaimer. That way each chapter has more content and less fluff. If you think I should bring the reading guide back, simply review or PM me and I will consider your opinion.

* * *

**- Thriller Bark: Forest -**

Deidara woke up to the face of a slightly charred and majorly pissed of Sasori. "Hey, Deidara," he said in a dangerously low voice.

"What, un?" Deidara replied, attempting to gain his bearings. He had taken a pretty good beating from Rose and the nightmare zombies and it was taking time to recover.

"Why did you attack me?"

Now Deidara was more confused than ever. 'Attack him?'

"But I didn't," he responded aloud.

"Yes you did," Sasori countered. "Regi, the one who I was fighting, threw me over here. As I was sailing by you attacked me with your explosive birds."

"THAT WAS YOU, UN!"

"YEAH, WHO DID YOU THINK IT WAS?"

* * *

**- Thriller Bark: Mast Mansion -**

Sasori and Deidara sat in plush chairs as they waited for their host. Sasori seemed comfortable but Deidara was nursing the newly acquired injuries to his head. Sasori was level headed, but if you crossed his line there was hell to pay.

The door across the room opened to admit the same person who had greeted them on their boat. The hood that he had previously worn was no longer concealing his features and so both of the criminals got the full Moria experience.

'They _were_ horns,' Sasori thought briefly.

"Kishishishi," Moria laughed. "You're both looking as good as can be expected. Would you like medical treatment?"

"We'll pass," Sasori said.

"I thought you would. Well then, what do you want to know?"

"Who are you, un," Deidara immediately asked.

"I am Gekko Moria, Lord of the Depths and First Commandant of the We Are Alliance. The We Are Alliance is a large alliance of powerful pirates and we are currently engaged in the noble task of trying to save the Elemental Nation."

"Why?"

"Because we're brave warriors, kishishishi. We're doing this for several reasons," Moria said, suddenly getting serious. "Part of it is just helping out, part of it is to prevent the World Government from gaining the power of this island. The World Government is an alliance of over one-hundred and seventy nations that is currently targeting the Elemental Nations and we aim to stop them."

"Why do you care what they do?" Sasori asked.

"We're their enemy, we don't them to grow any stronger. Should they conquer this island they would it as a staging point to reconquer this entire sea. They lost control of it some time ago and they are only too eager to get it back. In addition to that, the lack of W.G. presence in this sea has resulted in less people applying to the Marines, a group who is loosing say in this area because this sea is no longer in danger of pirates."

"What do you mean this sea, un?"

"You didn't think the Elemental Nations was the entire world, did you? The Elemental Nations is only one of hundreds of islands. The islands are divided into seas based on location. The W.G. is an alliance of islands, and they recently lost the support of many islands in this sea, South Blue. The countries here rebelled and overthrew them, but that rebellion sated them. This sea is now devoid of those wishing to rebel, and it also lacks people willing to endanger themselves by becoming pirates."

"And if the World Government gains control of this island then the will use it as a foothold to reconquer the surrounding islands and gain back what they lost, including 'marine' recruits?" Sasori asked.

"Exactly, and we want to stop that from happening. We want your help. What do you say, kishishishi?"

"We'll see, un. We're going to have to take this up with the other members of the Akatsuki," Deidara commented.

"By all means, by all means. Return once you have made your decision, if you choose to accept."

* * *

**- Kumo: Robin's Apartment -**

Robin nodded as she looked over the printout again. "It's a poneglyph, like you thought. Say, how did you find it?"

The **Negative Hollow** in front of her sweatdropped. "Um, well, Zoro kinda hit the back of it. You see, moss-head and I got into a fight when we wandered into this abandoned shrine. I kicked him through the floor and he landed on it," Sanji said. "Don't worry, Robin-chawn! It's okay, just a little scratched where the idiot landed."

"Well, in that case it's alright," Robin said. "But if it had broken then I would have broken you." The line went silent. Then. . .

"I love it even when you're in creepy mode!" Sanji yelled. It was decidedly weird to see a **Negative Hollow** with heart eyes.

"I'll let you get down to reading then," Sanji said and the **Negative Hollow** flew off.

"So they found a poneglyph?" Nami asked from across the small apartment they had rented after getting used to Kumo.

"Yes, so it seems," Robin responded.

"What does it say?" Nami asked, genuinely curious. Robin frowned as she looked at the printout of the poneglyph that they had sent her.

"Well, it seems to be about the history of this land. It tells a story about a woman who ate a mystical fruit and gained great power. It was probably a devil fruit, but it's like no devil fruit I've ever heard of."

"A devil fruit, that makes sense."

"Maybe it's a different class of devil fruit that doesn't 'grow' anywhere off this continent."

Ever since discovering this land they had been theorizing about the nature of chakra and the biju. The best theory they had made concerning the biju was that they were all Awakened Legendary Zoan Type devil fruit users. That theory had two problems, the first being that the biju could still swim and that the idea of nine legendary zoan type devil fruits on a single island was simply ridiculous. Luffy thought they were genies who had escaped their bottles. No one was quite certain how he had reached that conclusion, and honestly, nobody wanted to know.

"Please let me finish reading this then I'll tell you what I think," Robin said. After several minutes Robin looked up. "I have a new theory about all of this."

"I think there were two devil fruits on this island, both the same type. One contained positive energy and the other contained negative energy. The positive fruit was eaten by the woman in the story and it's powers were so great that they were passed down to her decedents in a weaker form. That is how chakra came to be."

"The second fruit, the negative fruit, was eaten by some type of animal which then became a monster known as the Jubi. One day the son of the woman who ate the positive fruit, the one known as the Rikudo Sennin, fought the Jubi. Using his power he divided the energy that made up the Jubi and placed that energy into nine regular animals that gained intelligence and became the current biju."

"Alright, but does that mean that if a person with chakra ate a devil fruit that they would die?" Nami asked.

"I don't know," Robin admitted. "But, because of the 'positive' fruit's they very well might. Even if they survived, it probably wouldn't be pretty."

"Well your theory makes sense," Nami said. "Although, if the biju are made up of devil fruit energy, then why can they swim?"

Robin smiled. "I would guess it's a combination of two reasons. Firstly, since the power was divided I'm assuming that the weakness was divided as well. Because the possess less power the sea effects them less, much like the shinobi. The second reason is only a theory, but I have a feeling I'm right. I'm betting that the Sanbi and the Hachibi are the only ones who can swim and that while they escaped the weakness to the sea the other seven biju didn't."

"But wouldn't such a weakness be commonly known by now?" Nami questioned.

"No," Robin replied. "Think about it. The weakness is only against sea water and as long as they avoid the coast they don't have to worry about that. True, they can't swim, but when you consider the size of the seven biju is question and the bodies of water they could be thrown into, they wouldn't need to be able to swim."

"Mmmm," Nami hummed, thinking. "It's complicated, but it's also a lot better than the theories we've had up till now. But wait, if that's true and chakra is actually devil fruit energy does that mean that. . ."

"Yes, it would," Robin responded. "The more chakra a person has, the stronger they are, the weaker they would be against the sea and kiroseki."

* * *

**(A/N: Now I'm genuinely curious, did you like my take on the history of the Elemental Nations and the nature of the biju? Are there any hole in my theory that I overlooked? Was it original? Do you have something you think I should add? If you have an answer to any of those questions, please review!)**

**P.S. Peter Kim, please make an account so I can PM you. Anyways, there will be no Sasuke bashing in this story. I actually like Sasuke. He's way better than Naruto or Sakura.**


	20. Crossfire: The Shifting Powers

**- Oranoro Castle: New World -**

Kid stalked down the halls of his base. 'I wonder what Hawkins wants. It better be good.'

Throwing open the doors to the meeting room he noticed that Hawkins and Apoo were already there.

"Hawkins!" he barked. "Why did you call this meeting?" Hawkins, for his part, sat calmly in his chair shuffeling his deck of cards.

"Because," he responded, "We now have an opportunity like never before."

"Yo," Apoo said, adding his own opinion. "What are you talking about, Hawkins?" Hawkins sighed and sat began to place the cards from the deck onto wires that suspended them in midair.

"I'm referring to the issue of the Elemental Nations which were discovered in the Dead Zone. Luffy and Law have taken an active interest in it as well as the World Government and the Marines."

"So?" Kid asked. "Do you expect us to leave the front lines just to pussyfoot around with those idiots?" Hawkins shook his head.

"Kid, you know just as well as I do that until our navigating team figures out how to get through the Magnetic Zone we can't do anything, unless we wish to target a Yonko, which has it's own problems."

"We could take one down!" Apoo bragged.

"Maybe, maybe not. Either way, the opportunity before us is too good to pass up," Hawkins retorted. "Should we interviene in the conflict in the Elemental Nations we stand much to gain and little to lose."

"So you suggest we leave the Grand Line just to wait in South Blue until the fighting starts?" Kid questioned.

"No," Hawkins replied. "I suggest we gather our forces and depart once the conflict is about to begin. As long as we are subtle, it shouldn't be too hard to hide our intentions. In the moment when the World Government and the We Are Alliance begin to fight, we will strike. We would be able to cause massive damage to both of their forces, and while in the area we could pick up some of these shinobi to give us an edge once we return to the New World."

Both Apoo and Kid were silent. Neither of them was particularly into strategy, but both of them were enticed by the idea of damaging both the Marines and their fellow pirates. In the end it was too much for them.

"Fine," Kid growled. "We'll move once things start heating up. Until then, let's secure our land in the New World. Wouldn't want some cocky upstart to get any ideas while we're gone."

* * *

**- New World: Kimino Island -**

As the island faded into the distance Luffy and Law settled in for the long wait. It took about ten minutes for Luffy to fall asleep. Law was surprised it took him that long. The trip was mostly silent until that silence was broken by the ringing of a Den Den Mushi. Lazily reaching over Law picked up the receiver.

"Hello?"

* * *

Luffy groaned as he was shaken awake.

"Hnnn, whaaa. . . meat. . ." he mumbled.

"Get yourself together," the harsh voice of Law responded.

"Mmmm, yeah, what?" Luffy said as he shook of the last of his sleep.

"News," Law replied tersely. "The True Power Alliance Plans to make a move on the Elemental Nations. Not only that but, and you won't believe this, Basil Hawkins. . ."

* * *

**- Land of Fire: Konoha -**

Kiba frowned into his root beer. He was currently sitting alone in the booth of a semi-nice restaurant. 'Naruto's going to be back in a few months, I wonder how he's been.' Kiba frowned. 'I wonder how strong he's going to be. There's no way I'm letting him get stronger than me!'

"Hey, an Inuzuka." The voice startled Kiba out of his thoughts and he looked up to see a man sliding into the other side of the booth with a jug of sake. The man wore a black vest that was left open, revealing his tanned and muscled chest. The had black hair and a distinct scar running over his left eye.

"Who are you?" Kiba demanded.

"Me?" the man said laughing. "The name's Jabra and I come from a distant land." He barely managed to keep his composure until the end of the sentence at which point he completely lost it.

"What's so funny?" Kiba demanded again.

"Nothing, nothing," Jabra said as he wiped the tears out of his eyes. "I was just thinking of this one fight I had with Kaku when he. . . he. . . bwaaaaa!" Jabra erupted into laughter again. "He looked so ridiculous. Who wants to be a freaking giraffe? That's the worst excuse for a Zoan I've ever heard of!"

"A Zoan?" Kiba questioned. "Slow down and explain yourself or leave."

"Yeah, whatever. Like I said, my name is Jabra and I'm not from around here. You know Zoro and Sanji I take it?" After Kiba nodded he continued. "I come from across the sea like them. I even fought Sanji at one point."

"You fought him? He can fight?"

"Yeah, he can. Pretty well too. Anyways, he's currently training that Hyuga girl and I thought. . ."

"Wait," Kiba interrupted, "Do you mean Hinata?"

"I don't know her name," Jabra responded. "She has blue hair and white eyes without pupils," he commented after a moment of thought. Kiba sweatdropped. Jabra had just described every single female Hyuga.

"She's about fifteen," Jabra offered after seeing that Kiba hadn't found his previous comment helpful.

'Probably Hinata then,' Kiba thought. 'But she's being trained by Sanji? That doesn't make any sense.'

"So anyway," Jabra continued, "Since Sanji was training somebody I thought I would too. What do you say?"

* * *

**- Land of Hot Water: Golomont -**

The town of Golomont was a peaceful place situated just slightly over the border from the Land Of Fire. As one of the Land of Hot Water's major ports it was relatively large and there were always people about. Kakashi was taking advantage of that fact as he sulked around the dock attempting to overhear any useful information.

"Hey, did you hear about the two guys in the cloaks?" one sailor asked the man next to him.

"Cloaks?" the other responded.

"Yeah," the first said. "Black ones with red clouds on them. They passed through here not three days ago."

Kakashi's eyes widened. 'Black cloaks with red clouds, it has to be the Akatsuki.' He began to move closer. Even if it didn't pertain to his mission, any information on the Akatsuki was worth it's weight in gold.

"Can't say that I've heard about them," the second sailor said.

"Well," the first responded, "Rumor has it they went to the center of the mist."

"You're kidding."

"I'm not. It's only a rumor, though. What I do know is that they came to this town about five days ago, rented a boat and sailed out into the mist. Two days later they came back out without the boat."

"Without the boat?"

"Yeah, the were walking on water. Must have been ninja."

"Why'd the rent a boat in the first place?"

"Well, the guy I talked to said that ninja can only walk on water is they're going with the flow of the water. . ."

At this point Kakashi tuned them out and focused on processing the information he had gathered. 'So the Akatsuki are involved with the mist. That's probably true and the dates are also probably accurate. Of course, the might not be. The idea that shinobi can only walk with the flow of the water is a common rumor but a false one. That one sailor obviously believes things when people tell them to him and doesn't look too hard for actual evidence.'

Turning away from the port Kakashi jumped and took to the roofs. He flew through the sky as he transversed the city, only stopping whenever he overheard something interesting. It was the fourth such stop when he struck gold. It was a conversation between three foreign ninja that seemed to have been in the town for some time.

"Hey, do you remember those guys, the ones without chakra?" the first asked.

"Yeah, what about them?" the second responded

"Do you know where they came from?" the first replied.

"I heard they came out of the mist," the third added.

"Yeah, that's what I heard," the second contributed.

Kakashi frowned. 'Those guys without chakra. . . Zoro and Sanji. They came out of the mist? That means they came from whatever's hiding in there. And the Akatsuki are in league with whatever's inside the mist so that means. . . Zoro and Sanji are in league with the Akatsuki! I have to report this to Hokage-sama at once!' A singe **Shunshin** later and he was gone. The three ninja who had remained unaware of his presence continued their conversation.

"That one with the scar over his eye scared me," the third said.

"Yeah, the orange haired one was kinda scary too," the first agreed.

"They seemed happy about something, though," the second mused.

"I overheard the scared one talking about messing with two people called Zoro and Sanji. He said that was why they went through them mist," the first said.

"I wonder what that meant?" the third mused. "Well, whatever. It probably doesn't matter."

But it did matter, just not to them.

* * *

**(A/N: On the topic of Sauske: like I said, there will be _NO_ Sasuke bashing in this fic because I rather like him. That said, Sasuke is a cold, unfeeling bastard in the cannon and he will be the same in my story. He will act as an antagonist, but he will not be bashed. If you have a problem with that then I apologize, but that's they way I'm writing it. Wow. . . I kinda went on a tirade there. . . sorry about that.)**


	21. Itachi Strikes

**- Land of Tea: Field in the Middle of Nowhere -**

Jiriaya's eyes flew open. Standing above him was none other than Itachi Uchiha.

"Hello," he said calmly. "I suggest you don't move."

"What do you want?" Jiriaya asked, his guard up.

"You know what I want," Itachi responded. "You have in your possession something which the Akatsuki desires."

"Naruto," Jiriaya growled.

"Yes," Itachi responded. "Well, no, actually. You see, we already have him." Jiriaya jumped up and whirled around. Naruto was sleeping in the grass just where he had been when he went to sleep. 'What?' Jiriaya wondered. 'Wait a minute. . .'

Looking more closely Jiriaya noticed that the Naruto he had seen was not in fact Naruto, but rather a puppet. Whirling around he stared at the empty space where Itachi had been only seconds before. 'Fuck.'

* * *

**- Land of Fire: Konoha-**

Kakashi appeared outside the Hokage's office and wasted no time entering. His information was several days outdated, who knew what the Akatsuki had been planning in that time.

"Tsunade-sama!" he saluted. "I have a report on the Akatsuki!"

"The Akatsuki?" Tsunade questioned. "What happened to the mist?"

"The Akatsuki are working with whatever's in the mist, or perhaps it's one of their bases. I also discovered that the people without chakra came from the mist so it's safe to assume they are working with the Akatsuki at the very least. At worst they aren't even people but rather genetically designed weapons."

"Damn," Tsunade cursed. "And they were able to infiltrate the Village. ANBU! Bring them here at once along with Neji, Hinata and the Hyuga elders!"

* * *

**(Thirty Minutes Later)**

Zoro was not happy. Was it because he had been dragged before the Hokage against his will? (Okay, he let it happen but only because Luffy didn't want him to hurt the locals) No. Was it because they were questioning him about a connection to a group called Akatsuki? No. Rather, one of the so called 'ANBU' had had the nerve to interrupt his nap. That man didn't know how lucky he was. Most who tried to wake Zoro up ended up being put to sleep, permanently.

"Zoro and Sanji, you are both suspected of having ties to the Akatsuki," Tsunade said. "And you," she addressed the Hyuga elders, "Are suspected of harboring them."

"Who're the Akatsuki?" Zoro asked Sanji.

"Actually," Sanji responded. "I think Law mentioned them. He said we were going to try to form an alliance with them. Seems that the Akatsuki aren't the most popular group."

"Who's Law?" Tsunade demanded.

"He's a. . . friend of our captain," Zoro responded.

"Captain?" Tsunade asked.

"Captain," Zoro confirmed in the most unhelpful way imaginable. Deciding this was going nowhere Tsunade changed tactic. Turning to Hinata Tsunade decided to work on the weak link in the chain.

"Hinata, what do you know about this?"

"Nothing!" Sanji said. "Don't drag Hinata-chan into this!"

To say everyone was surprised was an understatement. No one there had suspected that one of the two suspects would try to protect Hinata. Even in the worst case scenario she would get off easy because she was the Hyuga clan hairess and no one really suspected the Hyuga clan of betraying Konoha.

"I will if you answer my questions," Tsunade compromised. "First, are you two working with the Akatsuki?"

"I honestly don't know," Sanji answered. "The. . . group Zoro and I belong to offered them an alliance but I don't know if they accepted."

"We did," a voice from behind them said. Every single person in the room whirled around and stared into empty space. "Wrong direction," the voice said. Whirling back around the group came face to face with Itachi who was leaning against the offices windows holding a large brown sack.

"Itachi!" Kakashi exclaimed.

"Calm down," Itachi responded. "I'm not here for a fight. Rather, I'm here to deliver some news."

"What news?" Tsunade questioned.

"We have captured Naruto Uzumaki," Itachi said as he opened the bag to reveal the distinct features of Naruto. The eyes of everyone in the room widened, especially Hinata's.

"Naruto!" Kakashi exclaimed as he lunged forward only to pass strait through him.

"I'm only a projection," Itachi explained. "I physically am not even in the Land of Fire. But it doesn't matter. I was given the responsibility of explain several things to you. Say, do you know why we the Akatsuki are hunting the Biju?"

"Why?" Tsunade asked.

"That's none of your business," Itachi responded, almost smiling. "All you need to know is that capturing the biju was the quickest way to reach our leaders goal, until recently that is. The alliance that was presented to us by the group that Sanji and Zoro represent allows us to reach that goal more quickly, and should we ignore it, certain circumstances would make our goal impossible to achieve. To prove this to you Sasori and I have captured Naruto and we will return him to Jiraiya. You should receive the message conforming this in a day at most."

His part said, Itachi's form wavered before dissolving completely. Silence reigned or several minutes before Tsunade resumed her questioning.

"Assuming that is true, who do you work for?" she asked Sanji.

"We work for a group that is trying to avert a disaster for happening to the Elemental Nations."

"A disaster?"

"An invasion."

"What are you talking about?" Tsunade asked, starting to get frustrated. Sanji sighed.

"Alright, Zoro and I both come from across the sea as you know, and that is why neither of us have chakra. Still, the land beyond this land is vast and contains may powerful forces. Zoro and I belong to one such force and another force that we don't get along with has set it's sights on this island. That is the most that I can tell you at this time."

"You expect us to believe that?" Kakashi asked.

"If I gave more information you would only be less likely to believe," Sanji responded. "If you don't believe us then that's your problem. Just don't drag Hinata-chan into this, or her family."

It was the second time he had defended her and Hinata's cheeks were starting to burn. No one had ever stuck up for her except Naruto. For another person to defend her. . .

"Gahh," Zoro groaned. "We can't prove it, but if what red-eyes said is true we can prove that we mean you no harm. Whether our story is true or false having us in this Village is fine as long as we mean it no ill will, right?"

"Yes," Tsunade responded slowly. Raising a hand she waved all of the others in the room out. "Please leave," she said. "I would like a word with Zoro and Sanji. Everyone else is dismissed." After a moment the room began to empty. The invisible ANBU were the first to go and they were soon followed by a reluctant Kakashi. The Hyuga left after that with Hinata lingering slightly to look back at Sanji. Shizune was the very last to leave, casting a silent glance back at her teacher before ducking out.

Once they were alone Tsunade spoke two words. "Tell me."

"The Elemental Nations is one of hundreds, possibly thousands of islands," Sanji started, "Granted, it's larger than most all of the others, but it is still only one island. You are in the center of a dangerous bit of sea and so you have been secluded for hundreds of years, but recently this land was discovered by those on the outside, us included. We represent a force that wishes to save this island from another force, an alliance of over one hundred and seventy of the aforementioned islands, that wishes to take control of this land."

"You expect me to believe that?" Tsunade laughed. "It's simply ridiculous."

"That's why we didn't come right out and say it," Zoro responded.

"So you were thinking ahead," Tsunade observed. "I have one more question. Who is the group you represent, and why have you avoided saying their name?"

"Because you would trust us less," Zoro responded without an once of hesitation. "We are called the We Are Alliance. Law, the one Sanji mentioned earlier, is one of the two leaders of the alliance as is our captain."

"Captain?" Tsunade asked for the second time that day. "Are you sailors?"

"Of a sort," Sanji responded. Tsunade lowered her head and thought. After several terse moments of silence she spoke.

"You will be allowed to stay as long as the message from Jiraiya comes through." Both Zoro and Sanji smiled. "You may now leave the office."

Sanji was out the door in a heartbeat to go apologize for putting Hinata in that type of situation and Zoro wasn't far behind him. Before he left thought, Zoro paused at the door.

"Oh, I forgot," he said. "We're not the only ones from the outside here. There are two others that we know of, Jabra and Kaku. They're not working with us, but they aren't they type to interfere in other people's business either. And of course, the alliance of Nations we mentioned almost certainty has some people here watching you." And with those words he was gone.

* * *

**- Konoha: Private Inuzuka Training Ground -**

"W-w-w-what is that?" Kiba asked.

"This is the power of a zoan devil fruit," the transformed Jabra answered. "It's similar to the Jutsu your clan uses but I don't need a partner of hand seals to do it. Unfortunately, I can't teach it to you either. On the other hand, there is something I can teach you. It's called **Rokushiki**."

* * *

**- Land of Tea: Hiding from an Angry Sannin -**

Itachi terminated the projection jutsu and turned to his new partner. "Sasori," he called, "I'm done."

"Good," Sasori replied. "That's what I like about you, you don't dawdle."

"Let's go," Itachi said. "We have to return Naruto and then meet up with the others who decided to take Moria and CO. up on their offer. I'm actually surprised that some of the Akatsuki didn't accept."

"I am as well," Sasori agreed, "Although I understand some of their reasoning. I guess we're down a few members now, huh?"

"Indeed we are."

* * *

**(A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter and Naruto's minuscule part in it. Don't worry, next chapter is all his even though I don't like him. ON THE SUBJECT OF NARUTO BASHING: IT WILL OCCUR BUT IT WILL BE REALISTIC. I mean, as long as I don't gloss over his flaws like other stories, they will become glaringly obvious. During the entire Sanbi arc he was a complete asshole. On the other hand, I can't completely hate on him without out being a hypocrite considering I like Luffy. For that reason Naruto will get his time to shine too.)**


	22. Bepo's Depression

**- Thriller Bark: Mast Mansion -**

Bepo was sitting in the dining hall of the Mast Mansion staring at the food on his plate.

"What's wrong Bepo?" a voice called. Glancing up Bepo saw the imposing figure of Duval. "You're looking handsome, you don't need to be so down. The Rosy Life call!" Although no one there knew it the attachment Duval had developed towards the word handsome was almost freakishly similar to a certain green clad ninja's obsession with youthfulness.

"I'm sorry," Bepo muttered. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. . ." apparently loosing the will to sit up he collapsed onto the table, face planting into his unfinished lunch.

". . . Are you okay?"

* * *

**- Land of Fire: Konoha -**

At the same time Sanji was busy enjoying the weather as he walked through the busy streets of Konoha. 'It's already been a whole year, wow. . .' he mused. He had spent the year training Hinata and attempting to woo her, fighting with Zoro and of course operating the All Blue. He had seen Kaku and Jabra several times but for the most part they avoided each other. It was better that way. 'I wonder how Luffy's doing? I miss the others, especially Nami-chan and Robin-chwan,' he though.

His continued his walk for several more minutes before glancing up. 'The sun's past the middle of the shy, it'll be dark in a few hours. I'd better go prepare the All Blue, tonight is probably going to be as busy as always.' At first the All Blue had simply been a way for Sanji to make some money but it had since become something more. He had developed an attachment to the place, it was a part of him. And, he had taken one look at the profit it was making and almost drooled over how happy Nami would be if he gave even the extra money to her. That too.

Sanji was distracted when he noticed a flash of orange. 'Bepo?' he wondered as he thought back to what Law had said almost a year previously before they departed for the Elemental Nations.

_"You ten were chosen for several reasons, two of the most notable being that you are all able to blend in and respectable at the same time. Take Bepo for example, although he's strong he wouldn't be suitable for this job at all. He's a polar bear in an orange jumpsuit, he'd stick out like a sore thumb. Plus, there's no way an ninja would respect anyone who wears an orange jumpsuit. Really, I'm not even really sure where Bepo got that thing. . ."_

'Was that Bepo?' Sanji wondered. 'Well, one way to find out.' Turning around he sprinted towards where he had seen the flash of orange. While he was moving fast by civilian standards he wasn't going very fast by ninja standards and he was hardly moving compared to his full speed. Sure, he could go faster, but he had discovered that simply disappearing by using his full speed scared the civilians and freaked out any ninja in the vicinity.

When he had reached the area where he had seen the orange blur it was already gone. Frowning he wandered forward until he stood in the middle of a crowded street. 'I wonder where it went, pity I can't use Observation Haki since it can't sense colors. Maybe. . .'

His thoughs were interrupted by someone yelling from some place above him. Shceliding his eyes he looked up and saw someone standing on top of a telephone pole. After a moment the figure jumped back down into the crowd and Sanji once again saw the flash of orange as he descended because the glare was no longer obscuring his vision. Walking forward, slowly this time, Sanji approached the area where the figure had landed. The orange clan man, Sanji could tell from his voice, seemed to be talking to someone. After several moments the crowd parted and Sanji was just in time to witness something amazing.

**"Oiroke no Jutsu!"**

Sanji watched in awe as a male child transformed into a woman. Yeah, who am I kidding, he just cared that the girl the kid transformed into was naked. The transformation only lasted for a few seconds but even after it ended Sanji couldn't bring himself to tear his eyes away from the kid. What if he did it again? Sanji sure didn't want to miss that.

If he hadn't been so fixated on Konohamaru it never would have hit him, but he was that engrossed. Because of this when the orange form of Naruto came sailing towards him he failed to dodge and was hit square on.

* * *

Naruto slowly sat up rubbing his head, the punch had hurt but the landing really hadn't. 'I guess all that training made my skin stronger. Just hitting the ground isn't enough to hurt me now!' Jumping to his feet he turned around to face Sakura again. The second he did he noticed that she was staring at where he was moments before on the ground. 'Huh?' he wondered as he turned around to look for himself.

Looking down he saw the prone form of a blond man in a suit. 'I landed on him, didn't I?' Naruto wondered. 'Now Sakura's going to be. . .' he almost made it, almost being the key word. He ducked as quickly as he could but not quickly to avoid Sakura's punch. Her punch reaction time had always been rather impressive. For the second time that day Naruto was sent flying, this time through the telephone pole he had been standing on only minutes before.

While Naruto and Sakura were busy bonding Jiraiya was trying to remember where he had seen the blond man before. As he was thinking the blond man sat up and dusted himself off, but it was only when the blond man reached into his pocked an pulled out a cigarette that Jiraiya knew who he was looking at. 'Sanji, one of the two people connected to the Akatsuki, and not only that the group he represents got them to back off the jinchuriki. That alone is impressive. Still the picture they sent me looks nothing like him. Even for a drawing it was really terrible. Maybe he just has a face that's hard to draw. Of course, the always could have taken a picture. I wonder why he didn't?'

By this time Naruto had recovered and walked over to the fallen man. "Hey, sorry about that," he sheepishly apologized. "My name's Naruto, and I'm going to be the Hokage!" The blond man's eyes widened.

_"Shishishi, I'm Monkey D. Luffy and I'm going to be the King of the Pirates!"_

"What?" Naruto asked.

"Noting," the man muttered. "You simply reminded me of someone I know." Standing up himself Sanji offered his hand to Naruto. "I'm Sanji by the way, I own a restaurant in the Village now."

This time it was Naruto whose eyes widened. "Do you serve ramen!?" he asked with far too much eagerness in his voice as he heartily shook Sanji's hand.

"Umm, yeah," Sanji replied somewhat hesitantly.

"Don't bother," Sakura interjected. "You couldn't afford it."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked somewhat angrily.

"Sanji owns the All Blue, the most expensive place in town. There's no way you could afford to eat there. I've only eaten there once."

"So _you_ can afford it?"

"No, he decided to treat the gang. Lets see, well actually, everyone but you and our sensei's were there."

Naruto was next to Sanji so fast that he had to do a double take. 'What the. . . that was almost as fast as my **Kamisori**. . .' Sanji thought in disbelief.

"Please!" Naruto begged with puppy dog eyes. "Please let me eat at your restaurant. I want to try your ramen. I've sampled every type of ramen in the city, so please?"

'Well, he's sure like Luffy when it comes to food,' Sanji thought. "Ummm," he responded aloud. 'Should I treat him? If I did I'd have to treat all his friends too. Then again Hinata-chan's in that group isn't she? That would mean that. . .'

"Yes, I'll treat you and your friends to dinner tonight. I'd actually better be going, so you're responsible for telling Hinata, Tenten and the others. I'm off to prepare for the dinner rush, so see your around!" In his haste he forgot all about not using his full speed in public and **Kamisoried** up high before shooting off, all of which occurred at a speed which even ninja couldn't follow.

'Where'd he go?' Naruto wondered briefly before the meaning of Sanji's words sunk in. "Free ramen!" he yelled to the heavens. "Sakura-chan! I'm off to tell the others! See you at dinner!" he called back as he sprinted down the road.

"He really hasn't changed, has he?" Sakura asked Jiraiya.

"I wouldn't say that," Jiraiya said. "He's gotten a lot stronger and a bit more mature."

"A bit," Sakura laughed to herself.

"You're the one who punched him through a telephone pole for hitting someone the first time you punched him," Jiraiya reminded her. "That's something Tsunade would do. Actually, this one time. . ."

* * *

**- Konoha: Private Inzuzka Training Ground -**

Kiba collapsed in the dirt. He remembered the one time he had managed to let Lee convince him to join one of his training sessions with Gai. That was the first time he had experienced true pain. The second time was the day when he agreed to let Jabra train him. The man was a slave driver and his martial arts training was insane, and that was saying something considering he was comparing it to the hell Gai called training.

In the recent months he had endured more pain than he had in his entire life up to that point, but he had gotten stronger. He was now able to use **Tekkai** to block kunai and shuriken and his **Kami-E** was good enough to dodge them if he needed too. His **Shigan** was his best form, probably because of the nails he gained in his hybrid form. He had also made great progress on the **Soru** as well as the **Rankyaku** but for some reason the **Geppo** still eluded him.

'Naruto should be back soon,' he mused. 'I'm going to challenge him to a rematch.' Kiba was busy imagining his glorious victory when his stomach started to rumble. 'After dinner,' he added to his plan as his stomach started to grumble more loudly. 'Defiantly after dinner.'

* * *

**(A/N: And Naruto makes his debut! It wasn't that bad, was it? Trust me, I'm not going to be bashing him black and blue, but he will be himself, or as you would say bashed, in several upcoming scenes. I hope I don't get more copy and past comments without depth or any real driving argument, but what can you do? Oh, and a special thanks to dragon shinobi for being the voice of reason in the comments section.)**


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